The Big Sandy Mountaineer -

County Commissioner elections are coming up, and a quick look at Chouteau County Government and how it works will be covered in the next few weeks. County Commissioner Darin Schuster said, "It is important for people to know how local and county government works. We all learn about Federal Government in school, but nothing broader than that."

A County Commissioner has many roles and wears many hats. The three of them serve to do both the executive and legislative duties. According to Darin, "We can enact local ordinances and administer them." I've been visiting the various departments and asked about their budgets. They showed me their budget sheets, and I decided in this article, discussing each department's budget was unnecessary as they are complex. Each department's budget is divided into several categories. Darin told me, "We approve budgets and oversee spending. We are tasked with making sure all of the county government runs smoothly and effectively. Our primary duty is to review budget requests from all county departments, look at previous year's spending, and arrive at a number that works for everyone. We are obligated by law to adopt a balanced budget and can only levy taxes based on numbers provided by the Department of Revenue. We review spending by all departments monthly and make sure that they are on target with the current year's budget authority."

The Commissioners also sit on and act as an advisory or in concert with all of our county boards. This would include the Health Board, Fair Board, Planning Board, 911 Board, Tax Appeal Board, Weed Board, Library Board, Airport Board, Cemetery Boards, and Safety Board. I'll be covering the boards in a later article.

The three of them also work with various department heads to keep all of the boards filled when there is a vacancy.

The Commissioners also sit on and are voting members of some regional boards such as Bear Paw Development, Opportunities Inc, North Central Council on Aging and Upper Missouri/Madison, and Regional Youth Detention Board.

Darin also stated, "Since we are a rather small county population-wise, we do not have a true HR Department. The commissioners are sometimes tasked with that position."

They do not have a secretary, so they are responsible for all the correspondence that is required. During a legislative year, there are lots of emails sent to our representatives as there are always bills that could affect our county, either positive or negative. After a discussion, they encourage them to vote in our best interest.

The Commissioners enter into almost all contracts on behalf of the county. As well as any grant applications, and there are many grants. Usually, the County Attorney assists in the review of those documents.

Chouteau County is pretty much self-insured through MACO, but they are required to review and adopt policies for Workman's Comp, Liability, and our Health Insurance Plans.

Each commissioner also manages their own shops and road crew, as we all know.

The public may attend any meeting of the County commissioners as every meeting is open to the public. Anytime they are in session, they can address issues you want to bring to them. Call and get your item put on the agenda.

The first Department head I visited with was Chouteau County Clerk and Recording. I visited Lana Claassen, who was elected two years ago and has two more years to go before she runs again. Elections are the most important and the most nerve-racking and exciting part of their job.

Lana and I visited about how the heads of the department needed to run on a party line. The county commissioners made a decision not to change our form of government because the law was changed, allowing counties to run elections of county officials as nonpartisan. Our county still requires our county officials to run as a democrat or a republican. This could change if the commissioners put the issue on the ballot, which is their decision to make - allowing the citizens to vote on the matter.

The other responsibility of the County Clerk and Recording is maintaining the majority of all the legal documents relating to real estate records, land descriptions, and mortgages. This information is public. They also keep all county birth and death records. She recommends calling her if you want any birth or death certificates if you were born anywhere in the state of Montana. If you were born outside the state of Montana, she also has the phone number or internet address for you to make those connections.

The Clerk and Recording Department is also responsible for paying all the county bills. Most people think it's the treasurer's office.

If you are so inclined, all laws governing county government is located on the internet under Montana Code Annotated Title Seven. Montana Code Annotated Title Thirteen is the law concerning elections.

Chouteau County Clerk & Recorder is located on the first floor of the courthouse, and the phone number is (406) 622-5151.

Susan Spencer, Chouteau County Justice of the Peace

The second department I visited was the Chouteau County Justice of Peace. Susan Spenser said, "I'm a court of limited jurisdiction." She only covers misdemeanors where jail time is limited to 6 months with a dollar fine of $500 or less on criminal cases. Susan would deal with any theft of $1,500 or less. She also handles any traffic violations. Her office is in the basement of the court house, and a violator's initial appearance is in that office. If they plead innocent, then a date is set, and she uses the courtroom. We talked about the process, and she reminded me that she is required to protect the rights of the individual in each case; therefore, she cannot listen to any discussion on their initial appearance. That first appearance is only for pleading guilty or innocent.

She started in 1993 as a clerk for Judge Anderson. Susan started as Judge in March of 97 and has served for 23 years. Susan is elected also for a 4-year term. She has a clerk that she job-shares with the treasurer's office. Susan holds court Tuesday at two o'clock. There were 900 cases in the justice court last year. There are more tickets than that, but many people pay for the ticket, and they do not end up in court.