Mike Hopkins is asking to be re-elected to the Montana Legislature as the representative from the Seeley-Swan -Potomac-Bonner-Clinton area. Here’s a fact to consider in your decision to vote or NOT VOTE for him.
Seeley residents have been undergoing a vigorous, divisive discussion over a $40 million central sewer proposal. Mike Hopkins has never entered that discussion and asked if or how he could help.
There are four state funding entities which could assist a local government like Seeley. The funding from these entities is woefully inadequate and should be totally revamped to help rural communities such as ours build critical infrastructure projects,
Mr. Hopkins has been in a position to initiate some change but has failed to do so. He is chairman of the Infrastructure committee, and he has in his district an important sewer project estimated to indenture residents for $100-per-month sewer bills for the next 40 years. Were he representing his district he would be examining these four funding entities to see how they could be tweaked to better serve the needs of rural Montana.
A major funding source for Montana is the coal tax trust fund. We currently have more than a BILLION dollars in that fund and are allowed to spend only the interest (not the principal). There are so many folks clamoring for that money, it is spread thin across Montana. It should probably be dedicated only to basic infrastructure projects such as ours and require equal local participation by the benefited residents. And infrastructure projects, which protect the environment, should enjoy the highest priority.
We might want to let Tom Browder have a crack at this problem. He’s local and might be more accountable than Mr. Hopkins has been.
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