Author: lewisandclarkcounty

May 21, 2020

Dear Lewis and Clark County Community,

We are several months into the COVID-19 pandemic and how our world has changed! While there are still many uncertainties, we continue to look for solutions on how to navigate these uncharted waters. However, one thing remains the same: Lewis and Clark County government continues to operate and figure out how to balance accountability to the taxpayers with the health and safety of the community and our employees.

The operation of government has never ceased as we work to comply with the CDC, Lewis and Clark Public Health, and the Governor’s directives. Navigating the challenges of finding a balance and putting new protocols in place has come with one constant directive from the Commissioners: be kind, be generous, and be thoughtful.

On May 20, County elected officials met to discuss the challenges each has faced in this pandemic, as well as future planning efforts. We want ensure that despite being separate elected offices, the County is working together as a team. With direction from Lewis and Clark Public Health, “adapt and overcome” is the common theme.  

Leo Gallagher, County Attorney, said they are seeing a record number of filings, although trials for most of April and all of May and June have been vacated due to difficulties summoning a jury in the midst of COVID-19. Criminal trials are now set for later in the summer, including several high profile cases. This will result in a huge workload the second half of the year. At the same time, the Civil Department is assisting Public Health in upholding its and the Governor’s COVID-19 directives and responding to inquiries, along with helping the Commissioners move forward with several controversial issues.

With all the trials later this summer, Clerk of Court Angie Sparks said they are determining how to safely bring in and select jurors, and prevent crowding in courtrooms. Many options are under consideration, including but not limited to larger venues or bringing in fewer people at a time. Each option comes with challenges and staff are working hard to find solutions.

Sheriff Leo Dutton and his office have been part of the Unified Health Command alongside Lewis and Clark Public Health, Helena Police Department and St. Peters Health. Taking a balanced and thoughtful approach, they have worked closely with Public Health to educate the public and help enforce the Governor’s and Public Health orders. Keeping COVID-19 out of the Detention Center also continues to be a high priority. Protocols are in place and continue to evolve but this is an ongoing concern. Alternative locations have been established should an inmate become infected and isolation required, but thankfully this has not yet been necessary.

On the education front, County Superintendent of Public Schools Katrina Chaney, shared some anecdotes from her work with rural schools. Wolf Creek reports it has had almost 100% participation with online learning. Kids, teachers and parents throughout the county are all working incredibly hard. While it seems kids are keeping up, it is still too soon to know the academic effects of three months of virtual learning.

Clerk and Recorder/Treasurer Paulette DeHart oversees Elections, Motor Vehicles, Property Taxes, Recorders and Treasurers offices. COVID-19 has effected all these operations, yet they continue to adapt.

The June 2, 2020, Primary Election was changed to mail ballot only, and staff has been working to ensure it goes smoothly and social distancing is practiced for those that do come into the Elections office. Looking past the Primary, the General Election will pose challenging if it remains a polling place election. Several hundred election judges are needed and are typically over the age of 65. With this population being high risk for COVID-19, few may wish to participate and finding enough election judges may be difficult. Some solutions could include consolidating locations so fewer judges are needed and going to bigger venues where social distancing will be possible. These decisions won’t be made for another few months.

Motor vehicles has been operating throughout the pandemic, but with reduced in-person services. With Phase One of the reopening, one appointment-only window and two regular windows are now open, with a third soon to be. As with everything, maintaining six feet between staff and customers, sanitizing, hand washing and wearing masks can help keep everyone safe.

The Commissioners continue moving forward on many issues such as Part 2 Zoning, Rural Improvement District decisions and the budget approval process and are working hard to ensure the public is still able to participate. Staff are evaluating the Last Chance Stampede and will make a decision in the coming weeks as to whether or not it will be held. In looking at the budget, revenues are down; however, so are expenditures. The finance office is looking closely at the budget, working with departments, and more information will be forthcoming as the budget process moves forward this summer.

As an organization, staffing is a challenge across the board. Many employees have children at home doing online learning. Some employees are immunocompromised or live with someone who is immunocompromised and must keep themselves and their families safe by social distancing and continuing to stay at home. Essential services such as law enforcement have had to find creative ways to overcome these challenges and our HR department has been excellent in helping us all navigate. We want to work with employees to make sure they stay safe, yet also must find ways to continue to get the work done.

The Commission has been involved and doing everything we can to support Public Health, Disaster and Emergency Services and all the others. This is a marathon, not a sprint, and during the lull we seem to be in, we are all taking a hard look at how we move forward, particularly if we see an uptick in cases again.

While we face many challenges, not much is impossible. With an organization full of dedicated employees who want to serve, we will keep moving steadfastly forward and ultimately come out stronger and more resilient.

Know that we care about you and will do all we can to keep our communities safe.

In community spirit, 

Lewis and Clark County Commissioners

Susan Good Geise

Jim McCormick

Andy Hunthausen

In March, the Governor issued a directive allowing counties the option to conduct the June 2 Federal Primary election under Montana’s well-established mail ballot election laws. All 56 Montana Counties chose to conduct the election by mail ballot.

This is the first time a statewide election has been conducted by mail ballot. Across the nation, people are talking about moving to mail ballot elections and wondering: how do mail ballot elections work? 

The first thing to know is that in Lewis and Clark County, and indeed counties across Montana, we are accustomed to conducting elections by mail ballot. In fact, even in elections where polling places are open, most Montanans cast their vote absentee-by-mail. 

There are laws and procedures in place that account for every ballot issued, received, and counted. These processes also ensure that every person’s ballot is secret. Most importantly, these processes are open to public observation.

When someone registers to vote in Montana, a voter record is created by their county in the statewide election management and voter registration database. Every application received from a voter is scanned into this system. 

A few weeks before election day, ballots are mailed to all registered voters with an Active voting status. Mailed ballot packets include the ballot (or ballots in a primary election), instructions, a ballot secrecy envelope, and a return envelope with the voter’s affirmation.

Voters are instructed to seal their voted ballot in a ballot secrecy envelope. The voter then signs the affirmation on the return envelope and encloses the ballot secrecy envelope within the return envelope. The return envelope, signed with the enclosed ballot, must be received at the elections office or designated drop-off location by 8pm on Election Day.

In Lewis and Clark County, we set a goal of processing returned ballots the day they are received. Voters can track the status of federal election ballots online with the state’s My Voter Page service at https://app.mt.gov/voterinfo/. The online tracking service is updated every night, so if we receive and process your ballot on Monday, you will be able to see that on My Voter Page on Tuesday.

When voted ballots are received at the elections office, we compare the signature on the voter’s affirmation to the signatures scanned into the voter’s record. If the signatures match, the ballot is accepted for further processing. If the signatures do not match, or there is no signature, the voter is notified and must resolve the issue by showing ID and providing an updated signature. This signature is then applied to their voting record to assist with future signature verification.

The status of returned ballots is tracked in our election management and voter registration database. After processing batches of accepted ballots, we print a report from that database. Now we begin a series of reconciliation steps. First, staff ensure that each envelope reflected on the report is included in the batches, and vice versa. This is a double check to make sure the staff who processed the ballots in the system did everything correctly.

In the next reconciliation step, the secrecy envelopes may be separated from the signed return envelopes. Two staff are required for this step. As they work, they complete a report of the total number of return envelopes from their batches, and the total number of secrecy envelopes removed. They are also making sure that each return envelope only contains one secrecy envelope. If they encounter anything other than one secrecy envelope per return envelope, they check-in with supervisors. They document their work on reports.

Once the secrecy envelopes are separated from the return envelopes, we cannot tie a particular ballot to a voter. We can still tie the reconciliation reports together, so we have a documented paper trail accounting for each ballot received.

Starting three business days before Election Day, the ballots can be removed from the secrecy envelopes. The Election Judges who do this job complete reconciliation reports documenting how many ballots were removed from secrecy envelopes to be delivered to the tabulators that count the votes.

Starting one day before Election Day, the ballots are tabulated, which means the votes are counted. The tabulators also complete reports showing how many ballots they received and counted. Though results are tabulated the day before Election Day, they are not released until voting closes at 8pm on Election Day. 

In the end, we are able to tie the reports from the final step, tabulation, back to the first reconciliation reports from the election management system, without being able to tie the votes on a single ballot to a single voter. 

Most importantly, the steps to protect the secret ballot make these processes transparent and open to public observation. 

In the event of another spring flood event in Augusta this year, Lewis and Clark County has several reminders for the public, as well as what resources will be available.

If water begins to flow across roadways, it is important the public obey all traffic signs and not go around barricades put up by law enforcement and road crews. Often, it is impossible to know the condition of the road underneath the water and these closures and detours are in place for public safety. Roads covered by water could collapse. Additionally, the average vehicle can be swept off the road in 12 inches of moving water and attempting to drive through it could stall your engine and cause irreparable damage.

When water is flowing down Main Street, it is also important to avoid the area. Driving through floodwater creates wakes that can push water into businesses, creating more damage than they already will have to deal with. If driving through this area is unavoidable, please slow down.

While the County no longer provides sandbags, there are approximately 12,000 still available from prior years. They are located at the Augusta Volunteer Fire Department at 408 Manix St. If necessary, sand will also be available in the parking lot, donated by the Elkhorn Community Organizations Assisting in Disaster.

Remember, do not drink, cook or wash with water from a private well that has been flooded. It can make you sick. Twenty test kits will be delivered to the Augusta volunteer fire department ahead of time for distribution if needed, and Lewis and Clark Public Health will coordinate collection and sampling. If you have questions about the safety of your well, contact the Lewis and Clark County Water Quality Protection District at 406-457-8584.

The Elkhorn COAD will have bottled water available again if wells become contaminated. The water will be at the Volunteer Fire Department ahead of time in the event of road closures preventing volunteers from getting the water to Augusta.

Avoid contact with floodwaters. All floodwater should be considered contaminated by sewage/wastewater, pet and livestock waste and other pollutants. People working in floodwaters should take precautions to avoid ingestion or contact to the extent practicable.

If COVID-19 is still a community concern, people are reminded to practice social distancing protocols should they need to pick up water or sand. This means staying at least 6 feet away from one another. Remember, health care services could be at capacity due to COVID-19 and people should do all they can to lessen the strain on services.

Finally, please remember that stream permits are required for planned projects. In the event of flooding and loss of life, property or crops is imminent, an emergency notice needs to be filed with the Lewis & Clark Conservation District, 790 Colleen St., Helena, MT 59601, lccd@mt.net or call 406-449-5000 ext. 5. Work can be done to address the immediate emergency and the notice should be filed within 15 days after doing work.

Changes made following First Judicial District Court order

Helena – The Lewis and Clark County courthouse is going to see some changes and limitations in regards to in-court proceedings due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

According to Court Order #SB-2020-14 from the First Judicial District Court, it has become increasingly difficult for parties, counsel, court, clerk of court, pretrial services, probation and parole, and detention center staff to be present in the courtroom while strictly following public health recommendations to mitigate the virus.

Pursuant to the Montana First Judicial District Local Court Rules, Parties are encouraged to file documents by email to clerkofcourt@lccountymt.gov. Staff will follow-up with parties for payment. The filing of the Original Document is waived until May 1, 2020, pursuant to the Court Order.

Additional information about online or phone services offered by the Clark of Court can be found online at https://www.lccountymt.gov/cdc.html

We recognize many people are now working from home or unable to leave the house due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Please note Lewis & Clark County has many services that can be done either online or by phone and have listed them below for your convenience.

Clerk & Recorder Services

The following services under the Lewis and Clark County Treasurer/Clerk and Recorder’s office will be available through mail and online only beginning at 5:00 p.m., March 23^rd.

All of the following services are available on an emergency basis by calling the department you need during regular office hours:

Elections (406) 447-8339

Records (406) 447-8337

Tax Department (406) 447-8329

Motor Vehicle Department (406) 447-8328

Accounting Department (406) 447-8327

Burn Permits	Renew at https://app.mt.gov/burnpermit/
Elections	Voter Registration and Elections Online Services Check if you are registered to vote and if you are signed up for absentee ballots: www.MyVoterPageMT.com While you cannot register to vote or request an absentee ballot online, you can download the form so you can complete, print, sign, and then return: Voter Registration Application https://www.lccountymt.gov/fileadmin/user_upload/Clerk_and_Recorder/Elections/Forms/Voter-Registration-Application.pdf Absentee Ballot Application https://www.lccountymt.gov/fileadmin/user_upload/Clerk_and_Recorder/Elections/Forms/Application-for-Absentee-Ballot-2018.pdf Voter Registration and Elections Phone Services Most updates and requests require a signed form; however, if you call our office at 447-8339 we can look up your registration information and mail you any forms you need.
E-Recording	https://www.lccountymt.gov/car/records.html
Motor Vehicle Registration	Renewals: -On-line at https://app.mt.gov/vrr/renewal/index.html. If you have changed counties or moved since your last renewal/initial registration you will need to verify your address prior to renewing. -Through the mail*. -Drop payment in the Red Box in Lobby. -Please email DOJMVDLEWISCLARKCOUNTY(at)mt.gov or call 447-8328 to verify address prior to renewing on-line or to get an amount due for registration or permanent registration. -We will accept credit card payments over the phone for renewals expiring before 4/30/2020. Temporary Registrations: -E-mail front and back of the title or bill of sale to DOJMVDLEWISCLARK(at)mt.gov. Please put TRP Request and Last name in the subject name. -Fax Front and back of the title or bill of sale to 406-447-8330 with a cover page that has your name and address on it. We will then mail your TRP to you. -Drop a copy of the front in back of the title or bill of sale in the mail slot in Motor Vehicle Window 4. -Please include an e-mail address if you wish it to be e-mailed to you or an address if it is to be mailed. Vehicle Titles: Dealer/lender sending paperwork to MVD: -If you received a letter with a quote on it please send that amount in or email DOJMVDLEWISCLARK(at)mt.gov or call 447-8328 for alternate plates or payment type. -E-mail or call DOJMVDLEWISCLARK(at)mt.gov or call 447-8328 for instructions. Customer with paperwork in-hand: -Email DOJMVDLEWISCLARK(at)mt.gov for review of paperwork, if needed. -Mail* all necessary documents to Lewis & Clark County MVD with blank check for payment or a reliable phone number where we can reach you for payment. -Drop Title Paperwork in the mail slot in Motor Vehicle Window 4 with blank check for payment or reliable phone number where we may reach you for payment.
Pay property taxes	https://www.lccountymt.gov/car/tax-information.html
Record documents	https://www.lccountymt.gov/car/records.html Responding to recording information requests by e-mail to records@lccountymt.gov or phone at 447-8337
Request vital records	https://www.lccountymt.gov/car/records.html Email completed forms to records@lccountymt.gov
Review and file surveys	Call 447-8337 to coordinate
Search documents	https://eagle-web.lccountymt.gov/recorder/web/

Permits and Applications for Building and Development

Addressing applications	https://www.lccountymt.gov/cdp/permits/address-applications.html
Approach permits	https://www.lccountymt.gov/cdp/permits/approach-permits.html
Encroachment agreements	https://www.lccountymt.gov/cdp/permits/encroachment-agreements.html
Floodplain permits	https://www.lccountymt.gov/cdp/permits/flood-plain-permits.html
GIS and Map Services	https://www.lccountymt.gov/it/gis-maps.html
Subdivision applications	https://www.lccountymt.gov/cdp/permits/subdivision-applications.html
	All permits processed on a regular basis are online: https://www.lccountymt.gov/cdp/permits.html. Email to planning@lccountymt.gov or call 447-8374.

Clerk of Court

Marriage Licenses	https://www.lccountymt.gov/cdc/marriage-license.html If document is pre-filled out, it should not take long to issue marriage licenses.
Records Requests	https://www.lccountymt.gov/cdc/copies-and-search-requests.html
Filing	https://www.lccountymt.gov/cdc/email-filing.html Filing can be done by email and staff can then call to get payment.
District Court Calendars	https://www.lccountymt.gov/cdc/calendars.html
Jury Information	https://www.lccountymt.gov/cdc/jurypool.html

Environmental

East Helena property cleanup status	https://helenamtmaps.maps.arcgis.com/
East Helena soil displacement permit	https://www.skipthepaper.com/myApplication.aspx?myApp=026420CF-7E5E-415F-9F38-C38BBDC3D22C
General information	https://www.lccountymt.gov/health/environmental-health.html
Septic permits	https://www.skipthepaper.com/myApplication.aspx?myApp=1B341D0E-2691-410E-B30D-FCCAB07794A0

A letter from the Lewis and Clark County Commissioners

Tuesday, March 17, 2020

Dear Lewis and Clark County Community,

Over the last few weeks we have witnessed our community taking quick actions to contain the spread of COVID-19. While we don’t know whether or not we will have a confirmed case in Lewis and Clark County, it’s important we strive to keep us all as healthy and safe as possible.

As we all strive to understand what is happening and keep up with the ever changing information, the response can feel like too much to some, while for others it feels too slow. Without physical evidence of an emergency like flooding or fire, it’s hard to comprehend the need to respond so quickly.

Lewis and Clark County has an Emergency Operations Plan that includes planning for infectious disease outbreaks. We’ve worked closely with Lewis & Clark Public Health, state and county Disaster and Emergency Services, law enforcement, community stakeholders and others to plan and drill for emergencies like this, hoping it would never arrive, but knowing we need to be prepared. We are all in communication and doing all we can to support the ongoing efforts of our Public Health team.

While Lewis and Clark Public Health and the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services remain in the lead on this public health emergency, Lewis and Clark County government is actively working to support their efforts while keeping critical County services operational. We are taking steps to protect the health and safety of our employees. We are communicating with our first responders, on whom we will all depend as this continues to develop in our community, to ensure they are safe and have what they need. We’ve suspended non-essential travel and training, we’re examining our leave policies to ensure our sick employees stay home and those with children not in school can work remotely, and we’re working to adapt to provide services through virtual methods. 

There may come a time when some services are suspended, but as of now, we are working to adjust our operations to continue to serve our community.

The best way to stay up-to-date on all this is to check our website often. You can also follow our Facebook page at Lewis and Clark County Government (@LCCoGovernment) for updates.

We need your help to contain this and can’t emphasize enough how important it is to follow the Public Health Guidelines:

• Cover your cough. Cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue and then throw the tissue away. If you don’t have a tissue, cough into your elbow.
• Don’t shake hands. Avoid unnecessary contact by not shaking hands, hugging or kissing as greetings. Find other, non-contact ways to say hello.
• Leave space. Maintain a 6-foot radius between yourself and others in public spaces. (Droplets that may carry influenza and COVID-19 can commonly travel up to 6 feet.)
• Think it through. If you would normally reconsider attending an event during flu season, reconsider it now. People over 60 and those with pre-existing respiratory, cardiac conditions, or who are immunocompromised should avoid all large gatherings. 

Know that we care about you and will do all we can to keep our community safe.

In community spirit, 

Lewis and Clark County Commissioners

Susan Good Geise

Jim McCormick

Andy Hunthausen