Extension Advises Officials On Mandated Voter Review Process

As communities throughout Montana consider whether to make changes to the way their government bodies function – a review process mandated every 10 years by the state constitution – Montana State University Extension is helping local leaders navigate the process. Although its role in communities has evolved greatly since its inception, MSU Extension’s Local Government Center was formed 40 years ago to serve this precise function.

“We have a constitutional requirement in Montana that municipalities and counties must ask their citizens once every 10 years whether they want to review their system of government,” said Ashley Kent, associate director of MSU Extension’s LGC. “It intentionally places the power and authority within the hands of the people to make structural changes to our local government systems. You must ask the citizens. It’s not that it’s nice to have that, it’s something we must have.”

The process, called voter review, gives voters in every municipality and county the chance to decide whether they want to conduct a formal review of their local government’s structure, Kent said. The idea is to keep local governments responsive and adaptable, recognizing that what works for a small rural county might not work for a fast-growing city.

“We expect that every community in Montana is going to look different than their peers and their neighbors,” Kent said. “And even that’s going to look different over time.”

In 2024, 12 Montana counties and 44 towns and cities voted to review their government structure. That means specially elected or appointed study commissioners will review options specific to their communities, which they may choose to include on voters’ ballots over the next year. MSU Extension’s LGC spent the past year or so helping educate commissioners about the review process and how to propose changes, and will continue educational meetings into 2026.

“We are the only organization in the state that has accepted some kind of responsibility to support this process,” she said. “There is no formal support for this at the state level.”

The MSU-led trainings consist of interactive learning sessions for the commissioners and the public alike. To date, representatives from the LGC have participated in 17 meetings with around 250 elected or appointed study commissioners and members of the public. Other LGC resources include providing a custom-built online course, digital resources and ongoing technical support.

“We provide everything from initial training for the study commissioners and community content for those local governments as they’re educating their citizens up through support in writing the final reports and the proposed language for the election ballots,” Kent said. “We’re a beginning-to-end full support system for them.”

The LGC will continue to provide training sessions in jurisdictions that are participating in the voter-review process. The study commission’s findings may appear on the ballot in an upcoming local election, which will happen no later than the midterm general elections on Nov. 3, 2026.

For questions or more information about the voter review process, visit the Local Government Center’s online resource page or call 406994-6694.