City Council 2023: Scott Aspenlieder - Billings Chamber of Commerce

Why do you want to be a Billings City Council member and what expertise will you bring to City Council that will help you make good policy decisions?

I’m running for City Council because I believe we need solid leadership that can build bridges with other governmental jurisdictions to truly solve problems. The City needs problem solvers and leaders to deal the crime and budgetary issues looming in our community. I’ve led throughout my professional career and dedicated my service to our community and non-profits alike along the way. Building a leading a successful business I’ve been blessed to have been mentored by some of the best in our community and state. I’ve served as the President of the Montana Water Resources Assoc. for 4 years now, having been on that Board for over 10 years. Additionally, I serve as one of Montana’s two directors on the National Water Resource Association Board of Directors. Water policy is the core and focus of our work and service to the State and Nation in these roles. I was fortunate to serve the State of Montana as a legislative appointee to the Montana Environmental Quality Council (EQC) for 10 years where we dealt with wildlife, water, fire, sanitary and resource development policy for the State. I currently serve as the District 5 Transportation Commissioner for the Montana Department of Transportation, appointed by Governor Gianforte. In this role we lead the State’s transportation network planning and construction, prioritizing construction and infrastructure planning for the Billings District but also the State of Montana. Lastly, I serve as the Chair of the Gaming Advisory Council (GAC), appointed by Attorney General Knudsen. In this role we guide gaming regulations and policy through the Department of Justice for the State of Montana. I’ve been appointed to leadership roles in all these organizations and agencies because of my ability to execute and build coalitions to solve complex problems. I’m looking forward to bringing that to the City Council.

Local government issues sometimes blur conventional party lines. How do you anticipate representing your constituents and basing your policy decisions?

Listening to our constituents and leaning on data to make sure that decisions are made with the best information available to assure we do right by our citizens. I’m running for Council to improve our community’s safety and economic condition, those are not party issues, those are issues that all members of the public care about.

What are your top three policy priorities and why?

Public Safety – We’re are struggling to gain any ground, even with the passing of two safety mill levies in our community. What the community feels doesn’t match the statistics being put forward. We need bold leadership to collaborate with the DOJ and Yellowstone County in the development of strategies that maximize our resources and leverage the work being done by others. Focusing on solutions with the County for our policing policies and jail are something that’s been needed for a decade and now there’s substantial ground to make up.
Transparency – City Council and City Staff need to be fully transparent with our citizens regarding the true cost of regulations and rate increases. It’s been far too easy to increase fees and taxes without looking for creative solutions to budget problems and raining in expansive and growing programs.
Land Use & Economic Development – The City of Billings used to be a great place to do business, invest and develop. The rules were very clear and direct so everyone knew the playing field as they invested in development and job creation in our community. Billings truly was the best place in the State to develop and invest. Over the last 5 years that’s drastically changed for the worse. Council makes arbitrary land use decisions around development, not following Council’s own adopted policies and guidelines, leaving the investment and development community wondering which rules apply each time they entertain a project. The inconsistency and disregard for those investing in and building our community is something that needs to change before Billings loses its attractiveness to investors. These decisions have only contributed to the increase in the cost of housing and lack of housing in our community which harm everyone. Leadership from a place of experience in the development and land use arena is what this Council lacks currently and that’s what I will bring to the table.

What policy measures would you support to make housing more affordable and why?

The use of TIF districts to support low to moderate incoming housing projects is a great way to turn the tables and get people struggling into affordable housing. That was done on a project we worked on at Jackson Court on the Billings South Side.

We’ve got to make density development a priority where appropriate and get out of the way with arbitrary building regulations. Finding ways to incentivize density development through tax abatements to get projects moving will help to lower the cost of development and help the City target areas of in-fill that need to be built out in our community. That’s not been done successfully in our community in 10 years and not even been attempted as an incentive to drive development in the areas we’d like to see it.

What do you know about Billings’s Tax Increment Finance (TIF) districts? How should TIF districts be used to encourage infill development?

We’ve completed a number of successful projects within the EBURD and SBURA for residential and commercial development. Those TIF districts are vital to reinvestment in dilapidated areas of our community which need a jump start to take off. Where we get in trouble is using TIF dollars on vertical components instead of focusing on horizontal construction and improvements. Outside of demolition/brownsfield cleanup, TIFs were originally intended to assure that the services necessary where there to support development. It was not to pay for parts of vertical construction that should be carried by the investors. Being mindful of how we invest with TIFs will help our community continue to develop in the EDURD and SBURA but we need to tighten the reigns and assure we’re using those dollars responsibly.

Public Safety remains the City Council’s number one stated priority. What do you believe Billings should do to improve public safety and why?

Our citizens do not feel safe. With the passage of the past two safety mills there is a feeling that things are getting worse, not better. Still we need to continue to make difficult decisions in prioritizing funding public safety and mental health in our community. We need leaders to collaborate with the DOJ and County on the drug epidemic in our community and how policing that impacts our jail. We need leadership, partnering with the County not driving the County, to come up with a solution to the jail problem. That must involve every level of the criminal system from the District Court Judges to the Sheriff and BPD and City/County prosecutors to develop solutions that don’t just focus on the number of beds in the jail but how we process criminal in our community.

City Council voted to send voters a $143 million parks and recreation bond that, if approved, would fund the construction of a Sports & Recreation Center, development of Castle Rock Park, Poly Vista Park, and many other projects. Do you support this initiative? Why or why not?

I think this proposal is wildly reckless from fiscal position with very little official commitment to cost controls and follow-through on what is being sold to the voters. I would support a smaller and targeted parks bond but our community cannot afford recreation center right now, particularly with School District 2 coming with a school bond for additional capacity for our education system and the County coming with a jail bond soon for public safety. Education and Public Safety are two government functions that we should invest in, parks and bike trails are not. We need to make difficult decisions in prioritizing the limited capacity for tax increases this community can afford. Right now that does not include a recreation center in my opinion. Focus should be on public safety for the foreseeable future until we start to turn the tide with the criminal activity in our community.

The Montana Constitution requires local governments to ask voters whether they wish to review local government’s structure every 10 years; Billings voters will be asked during the 2024 election whether they wish to appoint a study commission to review the Billings City Charter. What changes to the Charter, if any, would you support and why?

I think this is a good opportunity to review our structure. I certainly would not support an increase in our ability to levy mills under any review. I would like to see a review of the effectiveness of the City Manager structure for a community our size. I think there may be some benefit to modifications to that structure with a full-time mayor to provide the leadership from an elected position to increase accountability in government.

Do you believe that the City of Billings needs a Non-Discrimination Ordinance? Why or why not? If so, are there any specific provisions or exceptions that you would want to see in the ordinance language?

The Untied States and Montana Constitutions provide for protections of all our citizens. Nothing further is needed in our community.

Do you support the current Tourism Business Improvement District (TBID) assessment and its use as supported by the Chamber and Visit Billings? Why or why not? (The Billings lodging industry imposes a fee on each night in an occupied room in Billings. Those fees are used to promote, market and sell the community and are managed by a 7-member board of hoteliers as required by statute. Annually, City Council adopts the budget presented by the TBID board.)

I am supportive of the TBID and the work it does in promoting our community. I think Visit Billings has done a great job in getting our community to the world to promote and bring commerce in. If we can continue to grow and expand that it helps all businesses in our community.