Flathead County Commissioner Joe Brenneman presented the State of the County speech to a Kalispell Chamber of Commerce luncheon on Nov. 9, a disquisition bookended with his feelings about the recent election and his fears for the county’s future.
Brenneman, the sole Democrat on the commission, lost his seat to Republican Pam Holmquist in the Nov. 2 election. Holmquist was present at the Nov. 9 luncheon, along with the rest of the commission.
“We, of course, have a bit of an elephant in the room, don’t we?” Brenneman asked at the beginning of his presentation.
He joked that according to letters to the editor and online comments about the elections, wolves will stop eating elk, the timber industry will take off again and there will be a cure for the common cold when Republicans take over in January.
After references to negative campaign advertisements, Brenneman said he was grateful for the time he has spent as commissioner since being elected in 2005. He said he has seen the very best of Flathead County, such as the donation of Volunteer Park in Lakeside, as well as the worst – “greedy developers who don’t quite get it.”
This brought him to the main topic of the presentation: “The state of Flathead County is very solid, but we have serious threats approaching.”
The county’s cash reserves are at a solid $3.6 million, Brenneman said, which is largely due to good management from department heads, the county administrator and the commission.
There were some tough decisions to be made in the name of maintaining fiscal solvency, Brenneman said. The county has cut 24 full-time positions since 2007, eight of which were layoffs and 16 were retirements or resignations that were not refilled.
Flathead County also switched to a private company for a workers compensation, which Brenneman said has resulted in hundreds of thousands of dollars in savings.
Public safety has also improved through several grants, which allowed for better radio equipment, as well as new board structures that ensure money is being spent appropriately, Brenneman said.
He also cited the county’s health clinic, housed in the new third-floor addition to the Earl Bennet Building, as an essential service for valley residents.
Water quality issues will continue to be a major blip on the county’s radar, he said, as will maintaining the county’s road system. There are about 700 miles of dirt roads to upkeep, which is a big undertaking for the commission.
However, despite the county’s current fiscal stability, Brenneman said he believed there are threats looming in Flathead County’s future.
“The threats we face are, quite frankly, ignorance and greed,” he said.
While the valley’s industries, such as timber, should continue trying to break back into the market with value-added products, Brenneman said the future economy would likely depend on successfully selling the area – the water quality, the views and the lifestyle.
Those aspects need to be protected for the county to have a shot at being a desirable tourist and business destination, he said.
“We have to have reasonable, sensible planning,” Brenneman said, later adding, “if we don’t recognize and take care of that, we’re going to lose what we really have.”
The Flathead also has a chance at becoming a health care destination, Brenneman said, a possibility that should be further examined.
As for the election outcome, Brenneman thanked the chamber members for being kind and generous during his time on the board. He noted that Republicans will have political control in January, to which he said, “I’m OK with that.”
“I hope that the Grand Old Party can become the grand champion of water quality and intelligent planning,” Brenneman said. “We’ve only got one chance, and if we mess it up, we’ve messed it up.”