Billings Chamber Candidate Questionnaire Q&A
1. Please provide a brief biography detailing your background and including your occupation, job title, employer, and education.
My grandparents settled in Denton, Montana in 1916, and I was born and raised in Bozeman. My father was a physician and my mother a nurse. I and my six siblings attended public schools before attending college. I graduated with honors from Dartmouth College, where I met my wife, Anne. My degree was in history. After several years working as a historical researcher and lay pastor we moved to New York City. There Anne taught elementary school and obtained a master’s degree from Columbia University. I graduated from Columbia University School of Law with honors and clerked for a federal judge in New York City for two years.
After law school I was hired by Dorsey & Whitney, an international law firm based in Minneapolis, where I worked until I joined Dorsey’s office in Billings in 1991. There I did primarily litigation, environmental, a real estate work. I also served on our local city-county planning board from 1997 to 2003, including as that body’s president. While serving on the planning board I was instrumental in
drafting and obtaining the approval of the West End Neighborhood Plan and regulations that created Shiloh Entryway Zoning District.
I started my own law firm in 1999 and no longer do litigation. My practice focuses primarily on real estate transactions, land use (subdivision, zoning, and permitting), easements, homeowners associations, and general commercial matters. I have an AV (“preeminent”) rating from the Martindale-Hubbell legal rating service and enjoy helping real people with real problems. I previously
served on the board of directors and as president of the Yellowstone County Bar Association and the Alberta Bair Theater. I recently completed my term as chairman of the Billings Chamber of Commerce board of directors and head of the Chamber’s Trails Committee.
I am running for mayor because I would like to start a conversation in our community aimed at answering one tough question: What do we want our community to look like in 30 years? Billings has never been in a better place, but historically we have focused on the trees, not the forest. We tend to plan for the next fiscal year, not the next decade, and certainly not the next half-century. We have some difficult choices to make. If we do not face those realities in a proactive manner relatively soon, our future will be decided for us by our inaction. I do not have all the answers, but I am pretty good at asking questions, and I hope I can help encourage dialogue that will lead to sound solutions.
2. The Chamber's top Strategic Priorities (see Strategic Priorities fact sheet at end of questionnaire) are: air service; river to the rims; and local option authority. What do you see is the most important issue related to growing business in Billings and how would you address the issue?
The common denominator that every business needs is a committed, competent work force. Billings will have to fill approximately 32,500 job openings in the next 10 years, but Montana’s population is the sixth oldest in the nation (17% over 65); and the average age in Billings is higher than many other major Montana cities, even though our total number of residents age 25 to 40 is higher than any other city. If we want business in the Billings area to thrive we will have to enthusiastically embrace growth and build a community that appeals to the young people who will be the entrepreneurs, employees, and customers of tomorrow. That means fostering a confident,
can-do attitude that will help local government achieve the basics – maintaining a safe community, reasonable taxes, sound infrastructure, etc. – but not stop there. Amenities matter too. The three Strategic Priorities mentioned above are important “action-steps” that will help build the community we want. But they are not the ultimate goal. To grow business, we need to grow Billings.
3. The Chamber supports the local option authority, which would simply allow local residents to vote on a local tax on specific goods, for a specified period of time, to be used on specified projects in that community. As a City Council member, or Mayor, would you vote for the City of Billings to support this concept? (Y, N )
Yes! Obviously there are many details that would have to be worked out, but the Chamber is on the right track in advocating for
legislative authority that would permit local voters to determine whether they want a local option sales tax that would be limited in
rate (not over 4%); limited in application (focused on alcohol, prepare meals, hotels, luxury goods with exemptions for basic necessities and certain “large ticket” items); inclusive of a reasonable property-tax rebate; terminable at sunset date if not renewed by the voters;
earmarked for capital projects with public oversight; etc. Enthusiastic support by Billings city officials, public education around the State of Montana, and the assistance of more local Yellowstone County legislators will be essential ingredients to passing a local option bill in
the next legislature.
4. The City Council could play an important role in recruiting conferences and meetings to Billings by providing expanded meeting space. Will you support construction of a convention/ conference center, utilizing public money, to bring additional conferences to Billings? ( Y, N)
Yes, assuming any long-term operational cost assumed by the public can be easily managed. The need for larger and better-quality conference and convention space was well established by the March 2015 market and feasibility study done by the HVS consulting firm. Our existing facilities are inadequate and becoming less competitive every day. Doing nothing is not an alternative. Slipping behind will harm not just our hotels, restaurants, and other visitor-related businesses but our community as a whole. The focus should be on a mid-size venue with approximately 50,000 square feet of exhibit space. A substantial redevelopment of the Radisson/Red Lion complex
on the West End would partially satisfy, but probably not eliminate, our need for improved conference/convention facilities in the core of the city. Development of a privately-owned conference/convention venue would probably be ideal (especially if a fair and cooperative relationship with neighboring hotels and other service providers could be established). But if the facility were publicly owned, generally speaking, I would not have any more concern about using public dollars for purpose than for funding MetraPark. However, to the greatest extent possible the source of those funds should be TIFD dollars generated by the project itself or by nearby, benefited properties. The public investment should be used to leverage a substantially larger investment by private developers who will build the tax base and
continue to generate increased tax revenues long after the public investment has been paid off. The largest obstacle is probably the problem of operational costs since the conventional wisdom (excuse the pun) is that a conference/convention center does not cash-flow. I do not know enough at this point to draw any definitive conclusions on that subject, but preferably a private operator could be retained to handle the day-to-operation of the facility without substantial on-going cost to the public.
5. City Council has partnered with Big Sky Economic Development on the thoughtful use of the tax abatement program to support business expansion and recruitment to our community. As a member of Council would you continue this approach to using this important economic development tool? ( Y , N )
Probably. I know that is a wimpy answer, but the truth of the matter is that I do not know a lot about the tax abatement program and
need to study the subject more. I have been involved with a number of real estate development projects, but none that utilized tax abatements. As I understand it the abatement program is rooted in state law that creates various tax-abatement incentives (see, e.g., Montana Code Annotated Title 15, Chapter 6, Part 1 and Title 15, Chapter 24) that can then be implemented (or not) by council resolution (see, e.g., City Resolution No. 05-18377). My sense is that this program is not well understood or often used in our community. I do not have any philosophical objection to using tax abatement as an incentive for development as long as the desired
development benefits the public in some way that is “above and beyond” and would likely not occur otherwise. Without this kind of clear public benefit it is impossible to justify giving one taxpayer an advantage over other taxpayers. The abatement should also be of sufficiently limited duration that the public will eventually come out ahead, even if the there is a temporary delay in the level of tax collections.
6. Tax Increment Financing (TIF) districts are one of local government's effective tools to attract private investment and growth to a declining tax base, raising property values for owners and eventually tax revenue for local government. Will you join the Billings
Chamber, Downtown Billings Partnership, and Big Sky Economic Development in defending the responsible use of tax increment financing (TIF)? ( Y , N )
Yes. TIF districts are just about the only tool we have in our shed for redeveloping blighted areas of Billings. They have proven their
usefulness and flexibility for roughly 50 years. The Downtown Billings, EBURD, and South Billings of today are completely different – and much better – than they were when I moved to Billings in 1991, largely because of the success of those TIF districts. However, to maintain the existing political support that exists for tax increment financing we have to do a better job of quantifying and advertising the degree to which we have increased economic development and total tax revenue in those areas. Taxpayers and public officials need to know that the eventual benefits to their bottom line are worth the wait. This requires sound data and sound voices that can clearly and convincingly explain this complicated area of public financing. To maintain credibility in the public sphere the process for awarding TIF grants should be transparent and should be as devoted as much as possible – but not exclusively -- to the construction of streets, utilities, traffic signals, street lighting, green space, and other facilities that have an obvious and indisputable public benefit.
7. Billings InternationalAirport isamunicipalenterprise-fund facility that significantly supports our economy. A coalition of community organizations recently attracted AmericanAirlines to Billings, pledging $600,000 of private funding to augment a $750,000 federal grant and provide a profit guarantee to the airline.Would you vote to continue this public/private partnership practice of providing airline guarantees to other carriers to expand service? (Y , N )
Yes, but every such proposed arrangement must be evaluated on its own merits. The American Airlines/Dallas route was particularly
attractive because Dallas ranks high on the list of ultimate destinations for Billings travelers, it opens up roughly 40 other cities for one-stop trips, and our then-existing connections to the south and southeast were not very good. We need to continue to educate area residents, public officials and businesses on the benefits of convenient air service, the danger of losing flights to competitor cities, and the realities of the changing air-service marketplace (the shortage of planes and pilots has given airlines increasing leverage over cities who now have to bid for their services). I was involved in drafting the guarantee agreements involving the City of Billings, the Billings Chamber of Commerce, and the Chamber’s individual members that pledged the $600,000.
8. A recent report by TRIP, a national transportation research group, estimates that congestion costs Billings motorists $268 per driver, annually. There are a number of ways to decrease congestion such as multi-modal road use (i.e. increasing walkability and
bikeability) and increasing roadway connectivity such as with the Inner Belt Loop. If elected, how would you help our businesses by dealing with traffic congestion?
I don’t know how these consultants come up with a number like that, but there’s no doubt that as Billings grows our traffic congestion and all the problems that go along with that will continue to increase. There are no perfect solutions, but some of the improvements that would help include the following non-exclusive list: (1) Continuing to encourage, and in appropriate cases mandate, urban-like building densities. I have been involved with land use and real estate development issues for 20 years. Encouraging in-fill development at urban density levels is good for both developers and communities as long as other options are also available for consumers who are willing and able to pay for them. (2) Completion of the Heritage Trail System, including the Marathon Loop around Billings, and various internal trail connections. (3) Development of more roundabouts where right-of-way and funding is available. (4) Acquisition of land for the Inner Belt Loop followed by eventual construction of the same, presumably primarily using funds that will be generated by the city’s
portion of the 4-cent gas tax increase. (5) Engineering, identification of right-of-way, and land acquisition for the connection between Highway 3 and Molt Road.
9. Additional regional parks and trails would increase quality of life for current residents, as well as create more community amenities that are attractive to the skilled workforce Billings needs to retain and recruit. Do you support expanding and improving our parks and trails as necessary components of retaining and attracting our workforce? ( Y , N )
Absolutely. I have been deeply involved in the development of Cottonwood Park, Riverfront Park, Swords Rimrock Park, and may other park projects for many years. The population of Billings almost doubled in the last 35 years, but in that time the city has not built even one large, general-use park. The biggest city in Montana does not have an indoor recreation center, a 50’ swimming pool, or a running track that qualifies to host the state high school track tournament. For decades we have talked about doing “something” to take better advantage of the Rims and the Yellowstone River, but all that talk has only translated into small, incremental improvements. “Good enough” is not the future we want.
10. Billings' success has led to questions and discussion on how to manage increased growth. How would you ensure the city appropriately balances the need for additional government (public safety, services, etc.) without unfairly burdening citizens and businesses (zoning regulations, increasing taxes, etc.) as we address the symptoms of growth?
This is a “process” question. There are no simple answers, but if the government follows a sound decision-making process the end result should credible and well-informed. This means making sure that the public in brought into the decision-making process as soon as possible and that the process has full transparency. In my opinion critical decisions are often left to the last minute. By engaging the public and key interest groups as soon as possible better results can be obtained. Building our tax base by encouraging growth and developing a city that is attractive to young people and investors will generate the funds necessary to meet our increasing public safety needs as well as build the amenities that will make our community the envy of the “New West.”