Letters of Advice - 2005
In the following table, click on a specific date issued to view the full letter of advice.
Disclaimer
The Department of Justice expends considerable effort to ensure that the letters of advice appearing
on our website are true copies of the originals on file in our office. However, we cannot guarantee
the accuracy of a printed copy that you did not personally download from the website, since the text
may have been altered.
| Subject | Request | Requestor | Date Issued |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elections | 1. Does the form of the City of Billings' general election ballot, asking Billings voters to consider paying for a permanent and cumulative mill levy for police, fire, and other public safety costs, comply substantially with the law? 2. Did the ballot language mean that the levy was permanent, or did it sunset? 3. Based on the ballot language, is the levy cumulative each successive year or are each year's levies separate and non-cumulative? |
Brooks, Brent City Attorney Billings |
11/14/05 (PDF) |
| Elections | May an employee of the West Yellowstone fire/EMT department simultaneously serve as an elected member of the town council? | Walsh, Philip F. Town Attorney West Yellowstone |
12/12/05 (PDF) |
| Local Government | Given that the Town of Hot Springs voted to become incorporated over 80 years ago and has always operated as an incorporated local government, but failed to file incorporation papers with the Secretary of State's Office, 1) What is the town's current local government status, and 2) what steps should the Town take to rectify its corporate status? | Darty, Lucy W. Town Attorney Hot Springs |
08/18/05 (PDF) |
| Open Meetings | 1. Is Mont. Code Ann. § 45-7-401(1)(e) void as applied in State v. Conrad, 198 Mont. 406, 643 P.2d 239 (1982)? 2. If void, was Mont. Code Ann. § 45-7-401(1)(e) somehow "revived" by subsequent amendments to Mont. Code Ann. § 1-2-108(2), the retroactivity statute? |
Shapiro, Steven J. City Attorney Boulder |
11/02/05 (PDF) |
| School Districts | In order to ensure equitable representation on the school board, does Montana law allow a consolidated school district to establish voting "precincts" or "wards" after two or more districts consolidate? If the statutes allow the establishment of such precincts or wards, what procedure would the county superintendent of schools or the school board follow in establishing these precincts? | Peterson, Cyndee L. County Attorney Hill |
05/24/05 (PDF) |
| School Districts | Does Montana law allow Darby public schools to claim for school financing purposes nonresident students enrolled at the Trapper Creek Job Corps Center? | McCulloch, Linda Superintendent Public Instruction |
08/10/05 (PDF) |
| School Districts | Whether the County Superintendent has authority to order Trustees of a School District to call an election where the Trustees of the two districts involved have not jointly agreed on the issue of joint assumption of bonded indebtedness. | Hoversland, Ken W. County Attorney Daniels |