HELENA — The Helena City Commission voted Monday night to accept a federal grant to fund security at government buildings. It came two months after they initially delayed action, when members of the public questioned whether it would require the city to get more involved in federal immigration enforcement.
The commission voted 3-2 to accept a roughly $53,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, directed through Montana Disaster and Emergency Services. They also approved two more grants with similar requirements, worth another $205,000.
(Watch the video to see more from Monday's long meeting.)
Commissioners clearly remained split over what the move means for the city.
“I think the responsible course and the responsible choice tonight here is to accept these grants,” said Commissioner Sean Logan.
“We have been presented with terms and conditions in these grants before us now, and it has been brought to our attention that they are problematic,” said Commissioner Melinda Reed. “The time to deal with it is now.”
The first grant would pay for new security cameras at the main entrances of Helena’s City-County Building, replacing existing cameras in police facilities at the Law and Justice Center and adding cameras in Helena Municipal Court. The others would fund a detective position in the Helena Police Department focused on sharing intelligence to and from partner law enforcement agencies, and training and equipment for a hazardous materials response team in the Helena Fire Department.
However, opponents of the grants said they weren’t unhappy with the substance, but with the attached list of terms and conditions on the proposals. All three grants include similar provisions, saying local governments that accept the money must agree to comply with federal laws and policies on subjects like immigration enforcement and opposition to “diversity, equity and inclusion” programs.
Helena City Attorney Becky Dockter said in September the city is already required to follow federal law, and she didn’t believe these conditions would require the city to do anything they aren’t already doing. She issued an updated legal memo ahead of Monday’s meeting, saying many of the provisions opponents pointed to are not going to be in effect. Dockter said many other cities and counties across the state have already approved the grants or will soon.
However, the vast majority of those giving public testimony Monday were still opposed to accepting the grants. Many of them said they weren’t convinced by Dockter’s interpretation.
Opponents said they didn’t want the vote to be a choice between not funding services and giving support to the Trump administration’s immigration policies.
“The funding that you all need and deserve should not be held aside on the condition that we'd be willing to do harm to others,” said Gabriel Furshong.
But commissioners did also hear Monday from some who said they agreed the grants wouldn’t bind the city – including former mayor Wilmot Collins.
“I don't believe we can afford to turn away funding based on fears about what might happens,” he said.
Mayor Emily Dean asked Helena Police Department Chief Brett Petty what would happen Tuesday if the commission accepted this funding.
“Do any HPD policies change tomorrow?” she asked.
“Mayor, no,” Petty replied.
“If we do not accept this grant tonight, do any HPD policies change tomorrow?” asked Dean.
“No,” said Petty.
Petty said, if the commission rejected these grants, HPD would likely have to cut one detective position – holding open a vacant position rather than laying off any employee. Helena Fire Department Chief Corey Parker said, without their grant, their hazardous materials team’s equipment and supplies wouldn’t get replaced, and over time, that would limit how aggressively they could respond to a hazardous materials incident.
Reed said she doubted the most serious outcomes HPD and HFD described would come to pass if the commission didn’t accept the funding. She proposed an amendment to accept the grant, but only if the city crossed out the language referring to complying with immigration enforcement. Reed argued, if the city attorney was correct and that provision wasn’t going to affect the city, striking it out would make no difference – while emphasizing Helena’s belief it didn’t apply to them.
Dockter said she believed, if the city submitted their grant acceptance with language crossed out, authorities might interpret that as a “non-acceptance” of the funding.
Reed and Commissioner Julia Gustafson supported the proposal to strike out the section, while Dean, Logan and Commissioner Ben Rigby opposed it. Dean, Logan and Rigby then voted to accept the grant as is, while Reed and Gustafson voted no.
As it became clear the commission wouldn’t approve Reed’s amendment, some opponents in the audience began loudly protesting. Dean had previously warned audience members not to applaud, cheer or jeer, and she declared about a ten-minute recess. Commissioners left the room, as some of the remaining audience chanted, “This commission, you must listen!”
After accepting the three controversial grants, commissioners also unanimously approved another federal grant: about $42,000 for an HPD detective liaison, to work closely with prosecutors leading up to and during criminal trials. Leaders said that grant, from the U.S. Department of Justice, came with different terms and conditions that they didn’t have the same concerns about.
