This is a recent question and answer with the Billings Gazette editorial board.

Candidate: John Staley

Political party: Republican

Occupation: Retired Fire Chief

Education: BA Communications from Montana State University-Billings, Minor in Fire Science from City College of Billings

Work History: 1976 to 1982 worked for the City of Quincy, Illinois as firefighter, Arson Investigator, resigned with the rank of Lieutenant. From 1982 until 2008 worked for the City of Billings, Montana as firefighter, retired as the acting Fire Chief. From 1987 until 1998 I also was a paid consultant to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) on matters of Fire and Life Safety education. I assisted as a subject matter expert in the development of elementary education materials and a pre-school manual. I also traveled to various states and instructed local governments, elementary educators and fire departments in the use of those materials.

From 2008 until 2014 I worked as the Fire Chief for Thornton, Colorado. I was the manager of a diverse public safety agency providing fire suppression, ambulance transport and advanced life support (ALS), fire and life safety education and code enforcement, and emergency 911 dispatch services to a community of 137,000 people in the metro area of Denver.

In 2014 I became the Fire Chief for Lockwood Fire District 8, retiring in December of 2023. While in Lockwood we built a new fire station, retired old debts, increased staffing and services for a department that provides fire suppression and ALS ambulance transport, fire and life safety education and code enforcement.

Public Service Experience: See above. I have also been a past member of the Montana State Fire Marshal’s advisory board. I was a charter member and past chairman of the Big Sky Critical Incident Team (CISM). I have worked on charitable projects for the City of Billings resulting in the Billings Fire Department receiving new fire helmets and Thermal Imagers all through private donations. I have been a member of the Yellowstone County Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) for several years and currently am a member of the Yellowstone City/County planning board representing District 4. Past President of the Billings ELKS lodge. I also worked with several Billings and Montana charitable organizations to raise funds for their causes.

Why are you running? Working with the commission as the Fire Chief in Lockwood and as a firefighter for the Billings Fire Department, I witnessed what appeared to be several opportunities for the Commission and the City to collaborate on issues i.e. the overcrowded jail and ambulance transport concerns.  Because the commission waited so long to address the jail expansion the projected costs are now double what they would have been 10 years ago. That equates to almost 200 million dollars versus under 100 million. I believe my experience having worked in both the city and the county will assist in those collaborative opportunities and hopefully make our county government more efficient and save our citizens money in the future. I believe I provide a different viewpoint than the present commissioners and hopefully will represent citizens with an eye toward the future.

What are some of your goals if elected?

·         Strategic Planning. This worked for me in Colorado and in Lockwood. It requires input from citizens and business entities, with a desired outcome for saving revenue and to plan for county growth. A priority of that planning will be the jail. As crime continues to increase, the need for medical and emergency services has gone up, and we are now subjected to enormous increased costs associated with those issues.

·          Our citizens are faced with increasing taxes, and a strong need to know how their tax contributions are being utilized. I will look at every county job, to ensure we have adequate staffing, and that each position is paid appropriately, commensurate with the job description.

·         I would like to see a 5-member commission instead of the current three-member requirement to ensure all citizens are appropriately represented.

·         I would also like the commission to consider a different meeting time. I have heard from several private citizens and especially business owners that for them to attend a meeting at 9:30 AM is difficult. Perhaps closer to the evening would serve our citizens more efficiently and increase attendance.

I want to form a committee consisting of accountants, tax experts and local politicians to discuss the current tax structure and explore a more efficient way to tax and use the tax income more efficiently.

How would you address public health and safety in Yellowstone County? This is where I feel I am most qualified. I have 47 years of working in public safety, and I have networked with many professional people in the public safety business. I would use my local, state and federal network to explore what works and what does not. Every study done by Billings and Yellowstone County suggests there is a need for more law enforcement, this includes county and city attorneys, police officers and sheriffs, as well as judges and an increased need to bring offenders to arraignments faster. Our citizens are demanding that we prioritize safety in our county. Our population increase is straining emergency medical response services NOW, imagine what the demand will be in 5 years?

What ideas do you have to encourage more affordable housing to be developed to bring more family wage jobs to the county? The newly created industrial park in Lockwood is an opportunity to bring several livable wage jobs to Yellowstone County. The county should assist them in every way possible to develop the infrastructure they need to begin attracting businesses to that park. We have continually heard from current businesses and the Big Sky Economic Development group that new businesses want to build in areas that already have sewers, water and roads. The County should prioritize getting that done to bring those livable wage jobs to Yellowstone County.

Home builders and realtors are the answer for affordable housing. I would encourage some type of initial tax rebate to the builders of homes that fit the description of affordable housing.

How would you ensure that government is run in an open and transparent way? Two of my goals would be instrumental in meeting that objective. By having 5 commissioners, it would lessen the opportunities to have the type of meetings where two commissioners meeting separately from the third commissioner constitutes a violation. Increasing the number of commissioners to 5 would discourage such an event from occurring.

I also believe if our attendance improved by offering the commissioner meeting at a later hour of the day, we would have more citizen participation and attendance. This should encourage the commission to be more accountable to those in attendance.

What ideas do you have to make county government more efficient and save taxpayers money? To begin with let’s cut the salaries of the commissioners by at least half. Each commissioner would still make around $50,000. With the benefits that the position offers and the required hours it would seem more than fair. We could use the savings to fill the other two positions of commissioner to reach the requested number of 5, as I stated previously. We need to invest in our department managers, they do the bulk of the work of the county, and hiring experienced and educated managers usually results in them staying as employees longer and fosters a better work ethic.

I would also like to see the County work with our communities and municipalities on roads and infrastructure. Our sheriff’s office and the Billings Police share certain services, why not public works, code enforcement etc. By working collaboratively and finding ways to share costs, we can lessen the tax needs of both the county and communities, such as Billings, Laurel, Huntley, Worden and Shepherd.

Why is the Metra only a county venue. It sits in the confines of Billings and brings millions of dollars to Billings and Yellowstone County; it might benefit everyone to discuss ways to share the cost of operating the Metra.