Montana Local Government Study Commissions collection

Montana Local Government Study Commissions collection, 1972-1986

Overview of the Collection

Subject: Montana Local Government Study Commissions
Title: Montana Local Government Study Commissions collection
Dates: 1972-1986 (inclusive)
19721986
Quantity: 3.0 linear feet
Collection Number: Mss 561
Summary: According to the 1972 Montana state constitution, local governments may review their government structure every ten years. The collection consists of city and county reviews from across Montana in 1975-1976 and two from 1986.
Repository: University of Montana, Mansfield Library, Archives and Special Collections
Archives and Special Collections
Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library
University of Montana
32 Campus Dr. #9936
59812-9936
Missoula, MT
Telephone: 406-243-2053
library.archives@umontana.edu
Access Restrictions: Researchers must use collection in accordance with the policies of Archives and Special Collections, the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, and the University of Montana--Missoula.
Languages: English
Sponsor: Funding for creating this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Historic Publications and Records Commission. Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Historical NoteReturn to Top

According to the 1972 Montana state constitution, if the citizens of the both the county and the city decree, a coalition will be formed every ten years to study the local government structure to determine if the city and county governments should be combined. In 1976 the first statewide Local Government Study Commissions were formed.

Across Montana, the citizens of cities and counties researched their local governments to decide if combining the governments would be of benefit to them. In 1976, the State Commission on Local Government formed to analyze the different data in the cities and counties, each of whom gave their final recommendations to the board and ultimately to the voters.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The collection contains records from the Montana Local Government Study Commissions from across the state from 1975-1976. The cities and counties that are represented in the collection have the final drafts of their study proposals that the citizens voted on. Many of the other city-county studies only have the final draft of their proposal and not the research on which they used in their decision.Also included are the final drafts from Flathead County and Livingston for 1986 reviews.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Restrictions on Use

Researchers are responsible for using in accordance with 17 U.S.C. and any other applicable statutes. Copyright not transferred to the University of Montana.

Preferred Citation

[Name of document or photograph number], Montana Local Government Study Commissions Collection, Archives and Special Collections, The University of Montana-Missoula.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Arrangement

The collection is arranged in four series:

Series I: Local Government Study Commissions, 2.25 linear feet, 1974-1986

Series II: Publications, 1 folder, 1976

Series III: Interim Committee on Local Government Laws and Interested Persons, 3 folders, 1976-1979

Series IV: State Commission of Local Government, 0.5 linear feet, 1972-1977

Custodial History

James Lopach of the University of Montana's Economics Department collected these materials as part of his research.

Acquisition Information

Gift of James Lopach, 1997.

Processing Note

The collection was originally processed as part of Mss 187. In 2004, the materials described in this guide were identified as a separate collection and reprocessed. In 2010, errors in the 2004 guide were corrected.

Related Materials

See also Mss 118, Missoula City and County Local Government Study Commissions Records; Mss 187, Coalition for Local Government Study (Missoula, Mont.) Records; and Mss 671, Missoula City Local Government Study Commission Records.

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

Series I: Local Government Study Commissions , 1974-1986Return to Top

2.25 linear feet

This series contains materials from the city and county study commissions of Montana. The commissions sent preliminary and final drafts of their local government studies to the chairman of the state commission, James Lopach. Most of the studies were conducted in 1976, while a few were in 1974 and 1986. The commissions gave their recommendations as to whether or not the city and counties should combine the governments. The final reports were then sent to the voters to decide. The county study commission final reports do not include Daniels, Edgerton, Judith Basin, Powder River, and Stillwater counties. The series also contains the monthly newsletter, The Local Government Review Bulletin, that the Commission On Local Government wrote, and research booklets profiling previous study commissions and different Montana cities and counties that were in the transition phase of a combined government.

The series is divided up into three subseries; City Study Commissions, County Study Commissions, and Pamphlets. The folders are arranged alphabetically within those topics.

Container(s)	Description	Dates
	Subseries 1: City Study Comissions
Box/Folder
1/1	Candidates for City Legislators	1974
1/3	Alberton	1976
1/4	Anaconda	1976
1/5	Baker	1976
1/6	Belt	1976
1/7	Big Sandy	1976
1/8	Billings	1976
1/9	Bozeman	1976
1/10	Boulder	1976
1/11	Bridger	1976
1/12	Broadus	1976
1/13	Broadview	1976
1/14	Browning	1976
1/15	Cascade	1976
1/16	Chester	1976
1/17	Chinook	1976
1/18	Choteau	1976
1/19	Circle	1976
1/20	Clyde Park	1976
1/21	Columbus	1976
1/22	Conrad	1976
1/23	Culbertson	1976
1/24	Cut Bank	1976
1/25	Darby	1976
1/26	Deer Lodge	1976
1/27	Denton	1976
1/28	Dillon	1976
1/29	Dutton	1976
1/30	East Helena	1976
1/31	Ekalaka	1976
1/32	Ennis	1976
1/33	Eureka	1976
1/34	Fairfield	1976
1/35	Fairview	1976
1/36	Forsyth	1976
1/37	Froid	1976
1/38	Fromberg	1976
1/39	Geraldine	1976
1/40	Glascow	1976
1/41	Glendive	1976
1/42	Grass Range	1976
1/43	Great Falls	1976
1/44	Hamilton	1976
1/45	Hardin	1976
2/1	Harlem	1976
2/2	Harlowton	1976
2/3	Havre	1976
2/4	Helena	1976
2/5	Hingham	1976
2/6	Hobson	1976
2/7	Hot Springs	1976
2/8	Hysham	1976
2/9	Ismay	1976
2/10	Joliet	1976
2/11	Jordan	1976
2/12	Judith Gap	1976
2/13	Kalispell	1976
2/14	Kevin	1976
2/15	Laurel	1976
2/16	Lavina	1976
2/17	Lewistown
2/18	Libby	1976
2/19	Lima	1976
2/20	Livingston	1976-1986
2/21	Malta	1976
2/22	Manhattan	1976
2/23	Medicine Lake	1976
2/24	Melstone	1976
2/25	Miles City	1976
2/26	Missoula	1976
2/27	Moore	1976
2/28	Neihart	1976
2/29	Outlook	1976
2/30	Philipsburg	1976
2/31	Plains	1976
2/32	Plentywood	1976
2/33	Plevna	1976
2/34	Polson	1976
2/35	Poplar	1976
2/36	Red Lodge	1976
2/37	Rexford	1976
2/38	Roundup	1976
2/39	Saco	1976
2/40	St. Ignatius	1976
2/41	Scobey	1976
2/42	Shelby	1976
2/43	Sidney	1976
2/44	Stanford	1976
2/45	Stevensville	1976
2/46	Sunburst	1976
2/47	Terry	1976
2/48	Three Forks	1976
2/49	Troy	1976
2/50	Twin Bridges	1976
3/1	Valier	1976
3/2	Virginia City	1976
3/3	Westby	1976
3/4	West Yellowstone	1976
3/5	Whitefish	1976
3/6	Winifred	1976
3/7	Winnett	1976
3/8	Wolf Point	1976
	Subseries 2: County Study Comissions
Box/Folder
1/2	Candidates for County Legislators	1974
3/9	Beaverhead County	1976
3/10	Big Horn County	1976
3/11	Blaine County	1976
3/12	Broadwater County	1976
3/13	Carbon County	1986
3/14	Carter County	1974
3/15	Cascade County	1976
3/16	Choteau County	1976
3/17	Custer County	1976
3/18	Dawson County	1976
3/19	Deer Lodge County	1976
3/20	Fallon County	1976
3/21	Fergus County	1976
3/22	Flathead County	1976-1986
3/23	Gallatin County	1976
3/24	Garfield County	1976
3/25	Glacier County	1976
3/26	Golden Valley County	1976
3/27	Granite County	1976
3/28	Hill County	1976
3/29	Jefferson County	1976
3/30	Lake County	1976
3/31	Lewis and Clark County	1976
3/32	Liberty County	1976
3/33	Lincoln County	1976
3/34	McCone County	1976
4/1	Madison County	1976
4/2	Meagher County	1976
4/3	Mineral County	1976
4/4	Missoula County	1976
4/5	Musselshell County	1976
4/6	Park County	1976
4/7	Petroleum County	1976
4/8	Phillips County	1976
4/9	Pondera County	1976
4/10	Powell County	1976
4/11	Prarie County	1976
4/12	Ravalli County	1976
4/13	Richland County	1976
4/14	Roosevelt County	1976
4/15	Rosebud County	1976
4/16	Sanders County	1976
4/17	Sheridan County	1976
4/18	Silver Bow County	1976
4/19	Sweet Grass County	1976
4/20	Teton County	1976
4/21	Toole County	1976
4/22	Treasure County	1976
4/23	Valley County	1976
4/24	Wheatland County	1976
4/25	Wibaux County	1976
4/26	Yellowstone County	1976
	Subseries 3: Pamphlets
Box/Folder
5/1	Local Government Review Bulletin	1974-1975
5/2	Local Government Review Bulletin	1975-1976
5/3	Local Government Study Booklets	undated
5/4	Staff Report to the Commission on Local Government	1974
5/5	The Voter Review Journal Newsletter	1976

Series II: Publications, 1976Return to Top

1 folder

This series contains one folder of booklets from the Bureau of Government Research at the University of Montana. All are related to local government in Montana.

Container(s)	Description	Dates
Box/Folder
5/6	Bureau of Government Research Booklets	1976

Series III: Interim Committee on Local Government Laws and Interested Persons, 1976-1979Return to Top

3 folders

The series consists of clippings from Montana newspapers on the progress of local government studies and memos to the committee stating the approach to the local studies and outlines of major tasks. Many of the memos are from the Montana Legislative Council, which oversaw the local studies. The series also contains the 1977 Montana House Bill No. 122 calling for "the general revision of laws relating to county and municipal government; enacting a local government code; and providing an effective date."

The series is arranged alphabetically.

Container(s)	Description	Dates
Box/Folder
5/7	Clippings	1976-1979
5/8	Memos from Montana Legislative Council	1977-1978
6/1	Montana 45th Legislature, House Bill #122	1977

Series IV: State Commission on Local Government , 1972-1977Return to Top

0.5 linear feet

This series contains directories of local government commissioners, state financial recommendations, and memos to various county and city officials with reports of findings and regulations. Also in the series are commission staff reports researching various aspects of state issues local governments had to take into consideration. A final report on the work of the Montana State Commission on Local Government 1974-1977 is in the series.

The series is arranged alphabetically.

Container(s)	Description	Dates
Box/Folder
6/2	Directory of Local Government Study Commissioners	1974-1975
6/3	Final Report	1977
6/4	Financial Recommendations	1974-1977
6/5	Memos	1975-1976
6/6	Staff Reports	1972-1977
6/7	Staff Reports	1977

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