Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

By TYLER RALEY | Staff Writer

HELENA – The Helena City Council approved an ordinance to alter the pay for the mayor at a regularly scheduled city council meeting on Monday, Feb. 24 at Helena City Hall.

The pay change will officially go into effect in November 2025 following the next city election. The ordinance states that the Helena mayor’s salary will be set at approximately $103,000 per year. Broken down, the base salary is $93,000 with $5,000 provided for a car allowance and health insurance. Compensation for the council will not change as a result of this ordinance.

Helena City Council President Pro Tempore Laura Joseph discussed why the change in pay is significant, stating that the payment no longer consists of what it has in the past.

“Currently, and in the past, the mayor’s compensation came from both the city of Helena and the utility board,” Joseph said. “Since the mayor has been divested from the utility board starting in this new term, the totality of their compensation will need to come from the city of Helena.”

Joseph went on to explain how the council settled on the number for the new salary, saying it was the result of combining all of the suggestions that the Councilmembers provided.

“Each of us has our own ideas about what it should be and why,” Joseph said. “Before the last meeting, Alice (Lobell) polled the group and then averaged everyone’s optimal situation. That’s where that number came from. It was an average of all of the Councilmembers’ input… In a situation like that, that was very creative and a good solution.”

Councilman Chris Willis was the only member to vote against the ordinance, saying that he feels the new salary amount is excessive for a part-time position.

In other business, the council tabled their discussion on the possibility of term limits for the council during the work session that was held before the council meeting. The council also decided to move away from the idea of moving the city’s library to the third floor of the new city hall building, saying it is not the direction they want to go in at this time.

During the meeting, the Helena City Council also approved the final plat of multiple areas. One plat was slated as being for the residences of Village Parkway for Engineering Design Group, while the other was slated for a three-lot subdivision and road dedication, which will be known and recorded as McCullough Snappy Service Oil Company’s and Store Growth and Development LLC’s resurvey. Both areas had favorable recommendations from the last Helena Planning and Zoning Commission meeting on Feb. 20.

The council also tabled the decision to approve or deny a rezoning of the property at 3311 Morgan Road from being a B-1 to B-2, ultimately allowing it to be a business zoning designation that can dispense oil and gas products. The council decided to receive public comment during the meeting, which revealed concerns from numerous residents in regards to what the proposal would do.

The Helena City Council also approved a property use agreement for the Helena Amphitheater by Helena’s Buck Creek Festival, allowing its usage for the festival’s 2025 events.