Article by Daniel J. Brooks, Director of Business Advocacy, Billings Chamber of Commerce
The Montana Chamber and University of Montana Bureau of Business and Economic Research recently hosted their 2024 Economic Update in Billings. One of the big takeaways was that Billings growth—across all industry sectors—picked up in 2023. It means our businesses have more work to do, creating more products, offering more services, and generally running their operations.
Even without the added work that comes with good growth, our businesses can’t be everywhere at once, so Billings Chamber of Commerce staff attend meetings of City Council, County Commission, Legislative Committees, and occasionally travel to DC. We’re here to keep you informed, save you time, and work toward a better Billings. Below is a brief snapshot of our advocacy efforts.
May 28 Public Safety
Billings City Council
The Billings Chamber testified in favor or two agenda items, an MOU between the City and County on a short-term arraignment hold facility to assist with jail overcrowding issues and two-way street conversions for many downtown streets, providing research from Kentucky indicating one-way to two-way conversions decrease traffic collisions and reduce crime.
May 31 Member Communications
County Commission
The Billings Chamber launched the weekly County Commission Brief, a newsletter to keep members informed about what is happening at the County Commission. With the addition of the Brief, the Billings Chamber now covers City Council, County Commission, and State Legislative Sessions. Whatever you’re interested in, we’ve got a newsletter designed to keep you informed and save you time staying up-to-date.
Jun 6 Infrastructure
U.S. Department of Transportation
On June 6th, the ribbon was cut on the recently finished Skyway Drive, AKA the Inner Belt Loop. The new road was built using funds secured from a U.S. Department of Transportation BUILD grant. The Billings Chamber of Commerce traveled to D.C. with other community partners to lobby the U.S. Department of Transportation and our congressional delegation for the BUILD grant, which was ultimately worth $11.6 million.
Jun 10 Public Safety
Billings City Council
We advocated for additional public safety resources, and the preservation of important community projects like Stagecoach Trail and South Park Pool, in City Council’s FY2025 budget. Ultimately, the budget adds six new patrol officers, two family violence detectives, three Community Service Officers (CSOs), and more.
Jun 17 Natural Resources & the Environment
Montana Legislature
We testified in opposition to a proposal to implement a new analysis in government decisions during an Environmental Quality Committee meeting. The new model claims to account for the social cost of greenhouse gas (SC-GHG) and varies wildly depending on who is inputting the variables. For instance, President Biden’s EPA estimate is four times as high as President Obama’s and according to an MIT economist, “these models have crucial flaws that make them close to useless as tools for policy analysis.”
Jul 1 Public Safety
Billings City Council
The Billings Chamber testified to City Council in favor of new subdivision regulations that would require new developments to include street lighting. We asked City Council to consider the Crime Prevention Through Environmental Designs (CPTED) benefits, and our shared public safety priority. While sensitive to the concerns of increasing housing costs, a 2021 city survey with 995 respondents indicated that 25% of residents (approximately 23,000) don’t feel safe in their neighborhoods at night, many because they don’t have adequate lighting. That’s too many Billings residents who don’t feel safe where they live.
Jul 8 Housing Supply
Billings City Council
Before City Council approved a schedule of planning fee increases, the Billings Chamber gave testimony encouraging City Council to give additional consideration to a comprehensive review of planning fees and the city’s decade-old, but largely unimplemented, Infill Development Policy to encourage more infill development in the City of Billings. While not entirely in opposition to the fee increases, we’d like to see the city make good on its commitment to promote and incentivize development where costly infrastructure already exists.
Jul 18 TOP 3 Policy Priorities
U.S. Senate
Senator Tester visited the Billings Chamber on July 18 and heard from a dozen of our chamber members about Billings’ business needs. Additionally, we discussed members’ top 3 priorities: public safety, housing supply, and workforce attainment/readiness.
Interested in receiving our newsletters? Email Business Advocacy Director, Dan Brooks, Daniel@BillingsChamber.com.
This article originally published in the Fall 2024 Edition of LiNK, powered by Simply Local.
