MISSOULA — Amber Sherill, who currently holds the Missoula City Council Ward 4 seat, is running for her second term. Sherill says that her time on City Council is her next step in community service.
“My husband and I moved to Missoula in 2000, and I'm from the Midwest originally. So we have raised both of our daughters here. They went to Hellgate High School. We've raised both of our daughters here and they both graduated from Hellgate High School. Four years ago when I ran — I am the incumbent — four years ago, when I said that the reason — what motivated me for running was really that it was almost like that next step in community service. I've done a lot of volunteering in my life and a lot of volunteering here in Missoula. What motivates me this time is different. I think that number one, we've had a lot...of changes in leadership at the City. And so, I think it's really important that we retain some level of experience. I thought I knew a lot when I stepped into this job, but I did not know nearly as much as I know now. And it's really complicated. I mean, you go from making decisions about funding fire to carbon sequestration to houseless. So, you know, it just takes a little while to really understand and be effective, I think at this job. And so I'm running again because I don't feel like the work is done and I feel like we need to retain some experience in the city,” Sherill said.
Sherill says that although she doesn’t get the chance to go to many of the neighborhood council meetings, she would want to expand communication.
"I think that the neighborhood council meetings are really useful. I don't know how many — like if we go across all the neighborhoods, what the participation level is from the neighborhoods. I've gone to before I was on Council. I've gone to some of mine, not all of them. I think we are starting to revamp that and I think we're on the right track. Obviously, as far as neighborhoods communicating with Council, you know, our numbers are public, our emails are public. I'm accessible to my constituents...I get telephone calls from my constituents regularly. I hear from them via email regularly. So I think that's a great direct line when there's a problem in your neighborhood to your City Council...But I don't have an exact way of how I think we could improve it. But I think again, communication is the key to almost everything,” Sherill said.
The budget next year for Missoula will be tighter due to funds from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) no longer being available. Sherill says when it comes to the budget, the taxes that make up the budget are based on an economy that no longer exists.
“I think next year is going to be a harder year than this year to figure out what we can fund. What we can fund, what we're going to have to cut without tax reform. There are a couple of different issues around tax reform. Number one, we used to rely on all these mills around town. We used to be a resource economy. We are now a tourist economy and we get no money from that so, that's an issue. But the bigger issue is actually a legislative issue, and it's that over the last 20 years — the burden shift of taxes has moved from corporations to residential properties that has shifted from — I think it used to be 60% of the tax burden was for corporations and 40 was on residential, and now it's almost 65 on residential. So, the legislature has not adjusted for the property values like they should have. I think there is a real push, maybe across party lines even, to have some real tax reform. Because when Spectrum, NorthWestern Energy — these central assessed properties are getting tax breaks, those are our tax credits — however we want to label them. Money is being made up someplace and where it's being made up is by the residential property owners and renters. I include renters and owners because landlords are passing on that increase to them. So, I will continue to advocate for a tourism tax at the state level. I will continue to advocate for tax reform and if people are not angry about the tax system, they should ” Sherill said.
When it comes to transparency in City government, Sherill says that she would want to share information and reasons behind decisions that the City Council is making.
“So that's one thing I will do. I think we're going to have to take a really, really close look at our budget. I mean, the majority of our budget is collective bargaining agreements...for fire, for police — it's roads. So there's not as much wiggle room in the budget on. I know people talk about pet projects and things — anything that you possibly could label. Like, that is such a tiny percentage of the municipal budget that there is not a lot of wiggle room. I am, I'll be honest — I think next year is going to be really hard. I also know that there are a lot of people that are really hoping to stay in their homes, that are worried about the taxes — especially those that are on fixed income. So I worry about that and I worry about every decision I make based on that."
Sherill says that being transparent is also key to a city that is moving into a new administration with a new mayor coming into office.
"I don't personally believe that there's some drive to not be transparent. I think, as I said earlier, that the work is really complicated and there are lots of different levels to it, and that we're trying to communicate with the public as best we can. I will — whoever our next mayor is — I will support that person and I will help get the, you know, have them [hit] the ground running. I think that's really important. I think it's our job as City Council to really work hard to make this transition as smooth as possible. And I am committed to do that, and I've let the candidates know that I think that...it's not a purposeful transparency issue in my mind,” Sherill said.
Sherill notes that when it comes to what is going on in City Council meetings or committee meetings, they are available on engagemissoula.com where there are meeting minutes and recordings of City Council meetings.
“I think it's that it's a communication issue and I think we're working really hard at the City to continue to communicate better and to let the public know what they want to know. All of our meetings are publicly noticed, they're public meetings. I would really suggest — you know, one of the things that I thought was really interesting when I ran the first time was that people would talk about rubber stamping on Monday night. And I always thought like all the discussion happens on Wednesday, because I would sit in those meetings all day on Wednesday trying to figure out what the issues were. And I would really promote the public keeping track of what is happening on Wednesdays. I'm the chair of the Climate Conservation and Parks Committee. We have all sorts of discussions on that topic on Wednesday. Those come to Monday night, but sometimes the questions are not answered again on Monday night, just because we don't have enough time. We'll be there until three in the morning every time if we do. If there's a topic you're interested in, or that you want to track, I would say go to Engage Missoula. I would also say take a, take a look at our Wednesday meeting schedules and follow those and watch, watch the video, they're all recorded."
On the topic of roads and infrastructure in Missoula, Sherill says she wants to prioritize road repairs and infrastructure when it comes to funding.
"I would make sure that we have all the road construction that we need, that we are using products that are environmentally friendly. I like the free because I like the outdoors and I like to be outside in the winter. But the...[freeze and thaw] is obviously really hard on the road. I feel good about where we are in the budget this year, but...roads are really expensive. Infrastructure is expensive. So, I don't have a laid-out plan on what streets and what neighborhoods. But I definitely think that we need to go through our priority list and we need to look really closely at what neighborhoods need at first and what neighborhoods have not had quite as much love, so to speak, on some of the roads,” Sherill said.
Sherill says that changing the codes of Missoula could also help with the housing crisis that residents are facing.
"I think that's a really a big, big question. One thing that I'm doing right now — and hoping to work with in the coming year — is getting a universal rental application. It is when you talk to people trying to find places in this really tight market, they're spending hundreds and hundreds — and sometimes thousands of dollars — on rental applications that they're not getting the place. So, that just puts added pressure on our rental market. So that is one thing I think that code reform...we have some opportunities there to incentivize some affordable housing,."
The homeless situation is another crisis Missoula is facing. Sherill says that she herself is feeling the tight housing market and added she wants to work to streamline development.
"A big question and it's a big question nationally. This is not just a problem for Missoula, it's all over the country. I think that the two things that are really tied together here are housing and houseless — and they're inextricably linked together. So, I think that what I have done and what I will continue to do is support the Affordable Housing Trust Fund. I will support code reform because we definitely need to get more housing on the ground. One of the issues that was really complicated — and the trends [are] changing a little bit...is our vacancy rate," Sherill says. "So it really means that the market gets gridlocked, right? And so no one can move, there's no movement in the market. Even as an empty-nester, now I can't move out of — you know, my husband and I — can't move out of our house to get into a smaller place. And so the next family can't move into. So I think just, just streamlining development and [the] Affordable Housing Trust Fund and also just any incentives that we have and that we can come up with to get affordable housing on the ground."
“I think that I bring a level of experience, like I said, that I think is really important to retain, especially right now in City Council. I think I am a very... was laughing. I had done another interview and I said, well, I have really thick skin and that seems like a thing. But I think it's really important to be able to on Council [to] have thick skin, not, not get personally hurt by things, right? And to also just be thoughtful and balanced in what your decisions are because, you know, we're always weighing, weighing the public comment, weighing the comment that we've heard from our constituents and also the information that we have that maybe they don't have. And trying to weigh what the best plan is and what the best option is in any decision that we're making. So, I think I'm, I think I'm kind of good at that. I think I'm kind of good at being balanced and thoughtful and, and listening but weighing, weighing kind of the information that I get from lots of different sources,” Sherill comcluded.
