Bozeman · City Charter · 2026 General Election · November 3
Article VIII isn’t fair, and it’s bad governance.
Bozeman’s proposed 2026 charter has a lot of good in it. But its Article VIII gives the Inter-Neighborhood Council a privileged role in citywide decisions, and two new duties in it would make city government work worse. To keep our 2006 charter, fill in the first oval.
How to vote to keep our charter
There is no “no” on this ballot
The charter question does not offer yes and no. It offers two ovals, and both begin with the word FOR. To keep the 2006 charter, fill in the first oval: “FOR the existing charter established in 2006.”
Filling the first oval does not mean the 2006 charter is perfect. It keeps the charter that has served Bozeman for twenty years, and leaves the draft’s good ideas free to come back on a future ballot without Article VIII.
Dates, deadlines and drop-off sites →
Read the proposed 2026 charter (PDF), or see it on the City of Bozeman website.
01 · It’s not fair
Neighborhood associations cover about a third of Bozeman
Bozeman has 15 recognized neighborhood associations. In the 2020 census, 17,652 people lived inside their boundaries: 32.8% of the city. Two in three Bozeman residents live outside every association.
- Residents inside an association
- 32.8%17,652 people, 2020 census, counted block by block against the city’s association boundaries.
- Share of the city’s land
- 17.6%The associations cover the older, denser parts of town. The rest of the city, 82%, has none.
- East vs. west of 19th Avenue
- 47.7% / 16.0%Share of residents inside an association, east of 19th versus west, where most recent growth has gone.
The map shows land area. The population figures are above. Source: City of Bozeman public GIS.
But Article VIII gives the Inter-Neighborhood Council, made up of one representative from each of those associations, a privileged role in decisions for the whole city. The City “shall consult” the INC “during the formative stages of citywide planning efforts, policy initiatives, and budget discussions” (§8.04(d)(7)), before proposals reach everyone else. And the commission must answer its recommendations on “neighborhood and city-wide issues” with “the reasons for divergence” (§8.04(d)(1), (d)(8)). The charter names no other group for either duty.
The commission answers to everyone in town, including the two-thirds of us who don’t live in an association. Neighborhood associations do good civic work, and we value them. We just don’t think a council that speaks for a third of the city should get a head start on decisions for all of it.
Can’t other neighborhoods just form neighborhood associations?
Yes, they can. But forming one means meeting the city’s recognition requirements (§8.04(b)), and volunteer groups are hard to keep going: two of the city’s 17 mapped associations are listed as inactive, and the INC’s own minutes record others that lapsed. Most new subdivisions already have homeowners associations. Either way, nobody in Bozeman should have to form or join an association to get an equal say in city decisions.
02 · It’s bad governance
Two new duties that would slow down every decision
Neither one is in the 2006 charter, and both would make city government work worse, whatever anyone intended.
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01
An undefined consult duty invites lawsuits
Proposed charter§8.04(d)(7)
“The City shall consult the Inter-Neighborhood Council during the formative stages of citywide planning efforts, policy initiatives, and budget discussions that affect neighborhood associations…”
The charter never says which issues “affect neighborhood associations,” or who decides. Housing, parking, parks, streets and the budget could all qualify. Because that trigger is undefined, anyone unhappy with a new policy could argue the consultation step was skipped and ask a court to set the policy aside. Even if no suit succeeded, that risk would hang over every decision. The safe course would be to consult the INC early on nearly everything, before proposals reach the wider public. That gives one group a head start no one else gets, and adds a step to almost every decision.
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02
A response duty hands the INC part of the commission’s agenda
Proposed charter§8.04(d)(8)
“The city commission and city manager shall provide timely responses to recommendations submitted by the Inter-Neighborhood Council, including an explanation of how such input was considered and the reasons for divergence…”
Those recommendations may cover “neighborhood and city-wide issues” (§8.04(d)(1)), with no limit on subject or number. A commission response is a commission decision, and state open-meeting law requires decisions to be made in noticed public meetings. So every INC recommendation becomes a commission agenda item. In effect, the INC gains power to set part of the commission’s agenda, competing with the commission’s own priorities for limited meeting time.
If the city wants stronger neighborhood programs, the commission can set them up by ordinance, where the rules can be tried out and fixed if they don’t work. A charter provision can only be changed by another citywide vote.
Where did these two duties come from? The chatbot charter →
If it fails
Nothing breaks
If the proposed charter fails, the 2006 charter stays in place, the same one Bozeman has run on for twenty years.
The draft has genuine improvements: a mayor elected at large to a four-year term, a resident compensation board to recommend commissioners’ pay, and a Municipal Court article of its own. The ballot gives you no way to take them without Article VIII. If the proposed charter fails, state law allows the city commission to bring the other broadly supported provisions back to voters on a future ballot, by ordinance (MCA 7-3-103(2)(b)).
Montana law also limits how often a charter question may go to voters, and how that limit applies here is unsettled, so we can’t give you a date.
Help keep our charter
Chip in, or just tell five friends
Contributions pay for mailers, yard signs and ads. And the most useful thing anyone can do is tell five Bozeman voters which oval keeps our charter.
Questions
Common questions
How do I vote to keep Bozeman’s 2006 charter?
Fill in the first oval, which reads “FOR the existing charter established in 2006.” There is no yes or no on this ballot. Both choices begin with the word “FOR,” and the first one keeps the 2006 charter and declines the 2026 draft.
What about the three sub-options on wards and commission size?
The sub-options “will only apply if the amended charter passes by an affirmative vote.” If the first oval wins, all three have no effect. You can leave them blank; a blank sub-option does not spoil your ballot. Keep Our Charter takes no position on the sub-options. The sub-options, word for word.
What is the Inter-Neighborhood Council?
It is a council of representatives, one selected by each of Bozeman’s recognized neighborhood associations, and it is not new. Bozeman’s 2006 charter established it (§4.06(d)). What the 2026 draft adds are new duties the city would owe it, including the consult duty in §8.04(d)(7) and the response duty in §8.04(d)(8).
What does Article VIII of Bozeman’s proposed charter do?
Article VIII, “Role of Public Engagement in Local Governance,” sets out principles for public engagement and covers neighborhood associations, the Inter-Neighborhood Council and city boards. Much of what it says about neighborhood associations and the INC carries over from §4.06 of the 2006 charter, which already established the INC. The two new duties that reach furthest are in section 8.04(d). Subsection (7) says: “The City shall consult the Inter-Neighborhood Council during the formative stages of citywide planning efforts, policy initiatives, and budget discussions that affect neighborhood associations.” Subsection (8) says: “The city commission and city manager shall provide timely responses to recommendations submitted by the Inter-Neighborhood Council, including an explanation of how such input was considered and the reasons for divergence.” Article VIII also requires the City to designate a “full-time, fully dedicated” staff liaison to the INC and neighborhood associations (§8.04(c)).
Does Article VIII give the Inter-Neighborhood Council a veto?
No. Nothing in the proposed charter lets the INC block a city decision, and §8.04(d)(8) assumes the commission will sometimes go a different way. Our concern is the two new duties. The consult duty in §8.04(d)(7) brings the INC in at the “formative stages” of citywide work, before proposals reach everyone else. The response duty in §8.04(d)(8) requires the commission and city manager to answer INC recommendations, including “the reasons for divergence.”
How much of Bozeman do neighborhood associations cover?
In the 2020 census, 17,652 people lived inside the boundaries of Bozeman’s 15 recognized neighborhood associations. That is 32.8% of the city’s residents. By land area the associations cover 17.6% of the city. East of 19th Avenue, 47.7% of residents live in an association; west of 19th, 16.0%.
Are neighborhood associations a bad thing?
No. They are a good way for neighbors to organize, and the people who take part do valuable civic work. Voting to keep the 2006 charter keeps neighborhood associations and the INC exactly where they have been for twenty years. We just don’t think a council that speaks for about a third of the city should get a privileged role in decisions for all of it.
When do I need to vote?
Gallatin County mailed ballots to absentee voters on October 9, 2026. Election Day is November 3, 2026, with polls open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mailed ballots must reach the county by 8 p.m. that day; a postmark is not enough. Dates, deadlines and locations.