The Council of Parliament, a body composed of representatives from each of the nine community councils and two committee representatives, held its autumn meeting on Tuesday night.

Mayor Bob Kelly and City Commissioner Owen Robinson served as representatives of the committee that night.  

The City Council received reports from the Great Falls Fire Department and the Great Falls Police Department on the impact of the fireworks on July 4. Chief of Police Jeff Newton (Jeff Newton) also introduced the latest situation of the department. 

Fire Chief Jeremy Jones said that fireworks are directly related to 46 fires this season, including three houses. He said they had to call the three "traumatic one" activations Benefis trauma. 

He said that some of the injuries caused by the fireworks made some people lose their fingers, while others lost their hands. He said that the important thing is not to promote the dangers of fireworks, but to establish an effective law enforcement mechanism. 

Mayor Kelly’s idea is not to set off fireworks on private property, but to set up designated safe areas where people can set off fireworks while firefighters are on standby. He said he thought of it after seeing a dozen people set off fireworks near the parking lot of Sam's Club. 

Sandra Guynn, chairman of the board, said she liked the idea, and other representatives there agreed. They discussed bringing the idea back to their committee and discussed it again at the January meeting. Allison Tangen of the Sixth Committee suggested that the committee could discuss which areas within its boundaries are most suitable for setting up fireworks display areas. 

Jones pointed out that the legislature changed the rules for the types of fireworks allowed, and that the county opening fireworks sales a week before the city allowed sales posed problems for the department.

Sheriff Doug Otto (Doug Otto) said that the current staffing is difficult to carry out law enforcement, because the police must first respond to higher priority calls. He also said that the county's early opening of sales has put pressure on the department. 

Guynn suggested that the council could get together like an abattoir petition and ask to discuss this issue with the county. 

The representative of the Second Committee, Shyla Patera, asked whether this issue should be resolved before New Year’s Eve, which is another firework-related holiday. Otto said that the department did experience similar struggles to the fourth sector, but the duration was much shorter. 

Newton informed the committee about the work of the police station in the community. He said that the department has a staff establishment of 89; currently, they have 83 and 5 others are receiving training.

Newton added that they are working hard to staff the 911 call center, and Helena has encountered similar problems. He said they are competing with less-stressed, higher-paying private sector jobs. However, Newton said that after converting the application process to a digital format rather than a paper application, they have more applicants. 

Newton said that his long-term concern about staffing is that there are currently 14 officers eligible for retirement. Although no one has expressed interest in retiring as soon as possible, he still keeps this matter in mind in 2022. 

Newton added that domestic violence calls have been on the rise, and there has been an increase in methamphetamine seizures in the community. He said they seized 27 pounds last year. Methamphetamine, this year, is as high as 38 pounds. Newton said the department has been cooperating with police in neighboring states to try to intercept the drugs before they enter the town, but he said that sometimes this is just a "coincidence." 

Lieutenant Tony Munkress discussed the Neighborhood Watch sign with the council. He said that it would cost nearly $60 to install a pole and hardware, and even less if something could stick to them. He said that the Ministry of Public Works is the point of contact for ordering and installing signs. 

Munkres said the plan is most effective when people nearby are involved and the ambassador of the neighborhood gets investment. He said that as a "good witness" you need to write down descriptions, license plate numbers and record patterns to help the police conduct investigations. He also recommended encouraging measures to prevent opportunistic crimes, such as locking the door and not leaving luggage in the car, even if there is nothing of value inside and closing the garage door. 

The representatives of each council provided an update on their council before the adjournment.

Nicole Girten is a government surveillance reporter for the Great Falls Tribune. You can email her at ngirten@greatfallstribune.com. To support coverage of Great Falls and Cascade County, please find the "Subscribe" link at the top of the page and subscribe to the Tribune.