Montana

Montana Disaster Services reports high turnover since ‘22 flood

Published

2 weeks ago

May 2, 2024

Montana Disaster Services reports high turnover since ‘22 flood

Montana Disaster and Emergency Services said it has seen 60% staff turnover in the two years since the Yellowstone River flood and asked lawmakers Tuesday for 14 more full-time employees.

Administrator for the Disaster and Emergency Services Division Delila Bruno told legislators the staff losses are in part due to burnout, and most often they lose employees to the private sector after training them.

Legislators are looking into disaster and emergency service recovery response in Montana as part of a study bill passed in the last legislative session. Lawmakers in a subcommittee of the State Administration and Veterans’ Affairs Interim Committee will eventually have to draft recommendations for how to improve emergency response in the state.

Department suggestions beyond staff increases included enhancing recovery coordination between agencies pre-disaster, training state experts to provide damage assessments to reduce reliance on federal partners, developing a statewide debris management plan and increasing staffing to assist individual assistance post-disaster.

In June of 2022, the Yellowstone River flooded in a 500-year event with nearly 10 inches of rain and snowmelt in 24 hours, destroying homes and structures along the river and sections of northern roads leading into Yellowstone National Park from gateway towns. The event required a massive recovery effort.

In the past 12 years, Montana has made 50 statewide disaster declarations and 15 federal declarations, including the 2022 flood, Bruno said. The recovery team, which works to restore a community to pre-disaster conditions, has six open disasters it is working on – half of which are floods.

She said federal resources for recovery efforts significantly outweigh what’s available at the state and local level. It would be better to reduce the reliance on the federal government to get communities back on their feet, she said, and may allow for a faster response.

Rep. Kelly Kortum, D-Bozeman, proposed writing a bill to provide emergency services with the additional 14 staff members, but other lawmakers shot the idea down as premature and wanted to hear from other stakeholders first.

Bruno said in an example of how the department loses staff, if they trained someone up to be a floodplain manager, then they suddenly became incredibly marketable for disaster firms for nationwide projects.

“They pay way more than we do,” Bruno said. “That’s very, very common to see people get gobbled up in the private sector and work nationally.”

The legislature gave staff raises during the last legislative session, which Bruno said has been a huge help in retention. She said getting more employees to share in the workload could also help with burnout.

Bruno said there also needs to be an emphasis on hiring for different skill sets in the division, and said they need more grant writers and people who understand local policies.

“What is appealing to a lot of emergency managers that we have apply for these positions is that they still associate the work with kind of a first-responder type work,” she said.

She said the division is looking to develop a certification program to train people on the recovery aspect of the job and the more administrative side of the division, which she said is the bulk of their work, though there are opportunities for first responders as well.

“We want to make sure that whether you’re at the local level or you’re at the state level, when you take a job with disaster emergency services, it’s clear what your what your job really is,” she said.

Bruno said Montana needs to increase support for local communities to be able to respond and recover from disasters.

“We know we need more training at both the state and local levels,” she said. “We do know that Montana communities do a better job when they have the resources at their fingertips.”

The SAVA sub-committee did not take action Tuesday, but will meet with the full interim committee on May 23.

Nicole Girten is a reporter for the Daily Montanan, a nonprofit newsroom.

Source link

Montana

Public charter schools in Montana set to open, related legislative tweaks possible • Daily Montanan

Published

3 hours ago

May 16, 2024

Press Room

Public charter schools in Montana set to open, related legislative tweaks possible • Daily Montanan

The Montana Legislature may consider “minor” changes to statutes related to public charter schools during its 2025 session following a recent court order, said a legislator and chairperson of an education committee.

But 18 schools are slated to open this year, according to the Office of Public Instruction.

Rep. Dave Bedey, R-Hamilton, said Thursday he believes the bill that opened the door for more charters is clear as written.

“At the end of the day, I’m just gratified that schools across the state are going to be able to put these innovative programs into place without delay,” Bedey said.

In the 2023 session, the legislature approved House Bill 549, which eased the way for more charter schools through the public school system. However, a lawsuit filed this spring alleged the Office of Public Instruction was throwing up roadblocks.

Last month, a Lewis and Clark District Court judge disagreed with the Office of Public Instruction’s interpretation that certain prerequisites needed to be met to get the charter schools off the ground, such as a parental petition and approval from county commissioners.

The legal dispute took place as students made plans to attend the new schools, but educators alleged the argument over how to open them meant likely delays.

Last week, the court signed off on an agreement between the plaintiffs, the Montana Quality Education Coalition, and defendants, Superintendent Elsie Arntzen and the Office of Public Instruction, that resolves some of the fight.

In the stipulation, the Montana Quality Education Coalition agreed Arntzen and the OPI had implemented processes that allow the schools to start operating by July 1, 2024, and that they were in compliance with the court’s order for a preliminary injunction last month.

Court order

“IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT this Court’s Preliminary Injunction Order, dated April 17, 2024, remains in effect pending an order terminating this Court’s preliminary injunction or until the Montana Legislature has the opportunity during the 2025 session to amend relevant statutory authority regarding the responsibilities of the Board of Public Education, the Office of Public Instruction, and the Superintendent of Public Instruction relative to the authorization of and opening of public charter schools in Montana. The remaining claims for declaratory and permanent injunctive relief are dismissed with prejudice and with each party bearing responsibility for their own attorney’s fees and costs.” — Order from Lewis and Clark District Court

The Montana Quality Education Coalition describes itself as made up of more than 100 school districts and five education organizations and one of the largest education advocacy organizations in Montana.

The agreement the judge approved acknowledges the preliminary injunction from April 17 remains in effect unless the court terminates it or the legislature amends relevant statutes. It also dismisses outstanding claims.

In an email this week, the Office of Public Instruction notes that as of May 13, it had opened 15 of 18 schools enrolling students this year.

“The OPI is working with one school to correct some of the information that was submitted and is waiting on applications from two schools,” the agency said in an email. “One of the approved public charter schools will not open until the fall of 2025.”

Rep. Bedey, chairperson of the interim budget committee on education, said Thursday he doesn’t believe amendments are needed, although small changes are possible.

Rather, he said a plain reading of HB 549 clearly indicates the approval process for schools, the authority of the Board of Public Education, and the duty of the Office of Public Instruction.

All the same, Bedey said the legislature has an opportunity to make “some minor changes” to make the intentions of the bill “crystal clear and remove any ambiguity” given some people had a “contrary reading” of it.

At a committee meeting in March, legislators voted 6-2 to send a letter to Arntzen telling her she was failing students and not meeting her Constitutional duties related to HB 549 and other educational programs legislators had supported.

The Montana Quality Education Coalition filed the lawsuit later the same month.

“It’s regrettable that this issue had to go to the courts for resolution because the meaning of the law was clear,” Bedey said. “It’s regrettable that we were unable to convince the superintendent of that when her lawyer appeared before us in a committee meeting in March.”

Source link

Montana

A small plane crashes in Montana, killing the pilot and a passenger

Published

10 hours ago

May 16, 2024

Press Room

A small plane crashes in Montana, killing the pilot and a passenger

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A single-engine airplane crashed in southeastern Montana, killing the pilot and the passenger, the Federal Aviation Administration reported.

The Piper PA-18 crashed near Tillitt Field Airport east of the town of Forsyth at about 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, the FAA said. The National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the cause of the crash.

Rosebud County Sheriff Allen Fulton said they have identified the victims but weren’t releasing their names yet. The crash did not start a fire, he said.

Source link

Montana

Alan Olson: Biden EV mandates not practical for Montana

Published

17 hours ago

May 16, 2024

Press Room

ALAN OLSON

Life in Montana takes energy.

Companies and individuals across the state have worked tirelessly over the years to ensure Montanans have the power to go about their lives in the way they want. It is part of what makes Montana the Last Best Place.

However, the Biden-Harris administration’s new EPA mandate threatens that freedom. Under the EPA’s final rule, two-thirds of vehicles sold by U.S. automakers need to be battery-powered or plug-in hybrid by 2032. Fundamentally — Montanans, and the rest of the United States, will eventually be forced to purchase an electric vehicle (EV) for their family car — no matter how expensive it is.

If Montana is to preserve a huge part of its residents’ way of life and prevent the stretching of some communities’ shallow pockets, we need all our policymakers in DC to step up to the plate and oppose this electric vehicle mandate.

As Executive Director of the Montana Petroleum Association, I have seen firsthand how hard our member companies work to provide reliable energy sources to the people of Montana. If the EPA’s mandate takes root, our member companies’ workers will suffer, as oil and gas jobs become fewer and further between.

It will also drastically increase consumer costs as a result of the mandated shifts to expensive and inefficient EV’s, which at this point simply do not support the hauling and long-distance needs of members of the oil and gas industry, or everyday Montana consumers.

Our member companies are actively addressing sustainability and climate issues, recognizing the importance of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and operating with the aim of providing Montanans with critical resources while respecting the importance of our environment — but the bottom line is that Montanans — and Americans — still rely heavily on gas- and diesel-powered vehicles, and shouldn’t be expected to scrimp in other essential areas, like groceries, just to eventually be able to afford an EV.

Kelley Blue Book reports that according to data from Cox Automotive, “the average transaction price for electric cars was $53,469 in July 2023, vs. gas-powered vehicles at $48,334.” The exponentially higher cost of an EV in addition to Montana’s rising cost of living is not insignificant. Car insurance for EVs is also costlier than gas powered vehicles, “on average, insurance for an electric car is $44 per month more expensive.” How can the government implement policies that impact Americans’ job availability and then double down by providing essentially one, expensive option for a cornerstone of their daily lives?

In addition to the financial strain this forced electric transition will have on consumers, it also heightens serious, existing concerns for Montana’s electric grid. Electrification of Montana vehicles will cause an inevitable increase in demand on our state’s limited grid capacity.

I commend Sen. Steve Daines’ and Attorney General Knudsen’s efforts to oppose this mandate, but unfortunately, it may not be enough.

We need Sen. Tester and all of our office holders to stand against this mandate from Washington, D.C. because failing to do so puts Montana consumers, and our energy security, in jeopardy.

Alan Olson is the Executive Director of the Montana Petroleum Association

Source link