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9/22/2025
On Nov. 4, voters in Great Falls will choose between two mayoral candidates: incumbent Cory Reeves and challenger Jasmine Taylor. Montana Free Press interviewed both candidates about their platforms and plans for office. Taylor’s interview is below, and Reeves’ interview can be found in this previous edition of Great Falls This Week.
Taylor is an administrative supervisor for the Montana Department of Labor and Industry and has been a community activist in Great Falls. Taylor ran an unsuccessful campaign for a seat in the Montana House of Representatives in 2020.
This conversation was edited for clarity and length.
MTFP: The city raised utility rates this year to support the infrastructure to grow the city, and there’s an ongoing discussion about how much the city should incentivize developments. Where is the line between attracting builders and giving away too much?
Taylor: The line is maintaining infrastructure and preventing gentrification. It’s a balance of those things. It has to include smart growth. So, while we do want to incentivize growth, it needs to be representing what the demographics of the city need. We need housing for our populations, but based on our demographics.
And then when new developments are built, we need to be making sure we’re getting things like a concurrent fire station if it’s going to require emergency services or infrastructure. Unfortunately, we haven’t done smart planning, and so things like our fire rating have actually gone down. Our response times no longer meet certain standards, and it’s made everyone’s homeowners’ insurance go up. And that’s, you know, a result of not doing good future growth planning. It’s been a long-term issue here.
MTFP: The commission voted to reallocate funding from the Great Falls Public Library last year after months of negotiations. With about a year of hindsight, are there things you would have done differently in that situation?
Taylor: I gave the mayor every opportunity to make a better decision. A lot of that work happened behind the scenes, so the mayor has really tried to distance himself from this. And while he wasn’t elected during the library and safety levy years, he did vote the following year to renegotiate the contract.
Had he simply voted, no, our library would have been left alone, and so he made the road for that to happen. And they simply weren’t expecting the pushback that they received.
So, I organized a big citizen response, and after that response, the mayor agreed that it wasn’t acceptable, and he told them all to go back to the bargaining table. So just to be clear, I already did that work with the library.
Instead of losing seven mills, we clawed back 3.5. And so, instead of losing everything, we lost some, and they made other changes along the way. Those changes were clearly politically motivated and to make life more convenient for some of the top management in Great Falls. They weren’t to benefit the public. They weren’t to benefit the library, and it was quite unprecedented.
This, you know, the mill ask was based on this long-standing contract. It hadn’t been touched since something like 1993. So for them to act like, oh well, we could always renegotiate within 30 days. Well, sure, but you hadn’t in 20-30 years, so to act as if we should have known they would do that, of course not. That was their reaction to losing the public safety levy. And the only reason we clawed any money back was because the mayor learned it was an unfavorable thing to do.
We see him play both sides. He gave us half back, and to keep his Republican base, he kept that and gave them a whole bunch of other concessions. Unfortunately, that very base will never vote for his safety levy.
MTFP: If I may follow up, how do you think is the best way to try and get some funding for public safety departments, given the situation the city is in?
Taylor: I have brought this to the commission, including Mayor Reeves, for years as an activist, and they simply won’t do it. They need to divide the levy asks into the different emergency service departments, starting with the smallest ask. So that would be your ambulance ask, the first responders. Then fire department. And then, eventually, cops.
There seems to be this solidarity thing, where the departments themselves don’t want to separate. And I may understand the idea behind that, but the practicality of it just ignores what the city can afford. And especially with the [Montana] Legislature shifting tax burdens, you know, that’s way outside of municipal control, but it still affects us. And if we ever want to pass another levy for anything, we have to fundamentally rethink how we do them.
MTFP: And so by unbundling, you mean taking a smaller bite at a time? Prioritizing those needs?
Taylor: There are three different sections, essentially. I’ve been saying this for years since the levy failed. While I may not agree with certain components of how they want to spend that money, I think the first responder and fire department stuff has to be addressed urgently, and they’re smaller asks. Those are easier bites for people to take. And will have more direct positive impacts immediately.
Things like potentially getting our fire rating restored so homeowners’ insurance goes down again. So I was very direct with Commissioner McKenney about this. I was very direct with Mayor Reeves about it. I’ve said it to the commission on numerous occasions, and instead what they did was put together a panel that they just hand-picked people who didn’t support the levy and maybe a few who did. It was really poorly organized.
And again, it just shows that there’s some basic city management and public administration things that I don’t think are going well right now. And I don’t think the current mayor has the knowledge, skills and ability to do. You know, it’s a professional endeavor at a certain point.
MTFP: I’ll actually skip my next question, because it was related to unbundling the public safety levy, which you have on your campaign website. Is there anything you want to add on that point?
Taylor: We need to take a look at what they’re calling public safety. You know, a lot of that is policing, and that is simply response.
I would much rather us look at that under the scope of crime prevention and start looking at how we provide substance use treatment, mental health services, emergency shelter. I’ve suggested things like a crisis center based off of the one Billings has. I’ve suggested that for several years, too. If we look at a prevention model, that keeps our citizens from becoming victims of crime instead of just funding response, and if crime always outpaces response, it doesn’t matter. We’re never going to catch up. It’s going to make a safer community to prevent crime from occurring. And as much as people may not like the idea of giving resources to those that are struggling, resources help prevent crime.
MTFP: If I may follow up on that as well: I think, a lot of times, it can be presented as the police need to catch up to an adequate level of reactive policing and service before getting to a crime prevention stance.
Taylor: That’s old-school thinking. My master’s is in public administration, which is how to run government agencies, and this is something we study.
This was an old-school idea. They would have called it broken-windows policing a couple decades ago, where it’s like, we’ll deal with the crime that’s at hand. And their thought was to deal with the low-level crime. Deal with the broken windows so it doesn’t look like a place where you could commit crimes. And what we found was that reactive response to crime is ineffective. It doesn’t prevent crime, and it costs money.
It also results in negative things. Maybe incorrectly using someone’s appearance to profile them, for example. And that approach of policing resulted in a lot of litigation in other states. We know that broken-windows policing is ineffective. I firmly don’t argue about facts. We know that that is ineffective.
We know that the best way to prevent crime is to give people mental health resources, substance use resources and basic poverty amelioration. That prevents crime, especially a type of crime we see in Great Falls, because it’s related to substance use and mental health.
MTFP: In an attempt to balance general fund resources, the city is taking a close look at struggling funds like outdoor pools, the multisports complex and the Civic Center. How would you approach the difficult decisions that could reduce revenue in one department to help another?
Taylor: Well, frankly, these are all things that should have been foreseen through feasibility studies.
When we talk about things like the pools, certain things are just the state of the economy. But when we look at things that are perhaps running at a deficit, there are city goods — things that are for the common good that will always run at somewhat of a deficit. And that’s okay.
But we have to have an understanding of what that’s going to be, how it will affect our budget. It’s clear that kind of planning hasn’t been done. And frankly, it seems to me that no one’s managing the managers. It does seem to be a lot of rubber stamps — that if top city employees say, ‘Do this,’ it is done without a lot of scrutiny, perhaps. And again, I think that it occurs because this requires some knowledge of how to manage a city.
So, firstly, those mistakes were preventable. Those should have been foreseen. We should’ve had an idea of things like operating costs, what fees will be, what population we’re serving. And if that demographic needs what we’re offering. I don’t know that it’s done in the right way in a lot of these cases.
But I do think we have to want — we want to study that people want to live in. So, public pools are a great thing. We want that. We want our parks. We want our Parks and Rec Department. This is what makes a community worth living in. I think there are other parts of the budget that could likely have some different consideration. It’s about priorities, really.
MTFP: There’s buzz around town about growth with the Air Force Sentinel project, various proposed developments and the growth of Montana Renewables. What do you think is in store for Great Falls in the near future and how, in your position, could you help foster success?
Taylor: I already said it. It’s gentrification if we don’t plan well. Great Falls is growing, and the population is going to change. We’re going to see housing competition more and more, the likes of which we’re not used to.
Montana is the most unaffordable place to live right now, and that is unprecedented. And so, while I think it could be very positive, it could also make Great Falls unaffordable for people who’ve lived here their whole lives. People on fixed incomes, things like that. And so that’s again why I think we have to be looking at what our population needs as far as developments — as far as what comes here and what we want our resources to be used for.
The city will likely have no say in the data center. I adamantly oppose that. I don’t want my community to have poor-paying jobs that use up the entire state’s energy reserves to no good. To no positive end. That’s not what I want. And even if I can’t vote on that as mayor, my vision for Great Falls is not that — not that at all.
And as far as Calumet and Montana Renewables, we will only start to benefit from their presence here if they pay their property taxes. You know, right now, they’re not solely hiring local employees, and I think it’s very careful not to be xenophobic about that, but to recognize that they’re not necessarily hiring local. And also that this does create housing competition.
We don’t have things like a sales tax here, which is great. I don’t want one. But, you know, if you’re living here but not registering your vehicle here, you’re not contributing. And at the same time, the employer themselves has appealed their property taxes every year since 2017. Sometimes getting millions of dollars in reductions. And during that time, they pay nothing.
So, even if, ultimately, their taxes go from $16 million to $11 million, they got to sit with $11 million in a bank account, collecting interest, while our schools didn’t get funded. And while we’re talking about closing the pools, they made over a billion dollars in top-line revenue last quarter. But they can’t pay their property taxes in Great Falls, Montana? Business is only a good if it’s contributing to the good of the community. At a certain point, it’s only exploitation.
Photo op
Sherrie Arey, executive director of NeighborWorks Great Falls, cuts the ribbon in front of the completed Baatz Block apartments building. The building will provide 24 homes for a permanent supportive housing model aimed at people on the edge of homelessness. The building hosted a grand opening on Sept. 15 with a packed house.
Permanent supportive housing puts health care and behavioral care services on the ground level of the Baatz building, ready for use by the residents on the floors above. NeighborWorks Great Falls and Homeword were the lead developers, and Opportunities, Inc., is coordinating the ground-level services.
Built in 1913, the Baatz building had been vacant along Second Avenue South and required substantial renovation that included adding an elevator. A coalition of local stakeholders put together a financing package from at least nine different sources of grants, tax credits and other funding to push the project forward. According to Montana Board of Housing Executive Director Cheryl Cohen, the funding package secures the Baatz building for 46 years.
Calling all photographers: Submit a photo for Great Falls This Week to [email protected].
County solid waste fees to rise again
The Cascade County Board of Commissioners approved an increase to solid waste fees for users of the eight container drop-off sites. The measure also streamlined a fee structure that sets rates based on property type. Users of the system are mostly property owners outside of Great Falls, Belt, Cascade and Neihart who haul their trash to drop-off sites instead of using a pick-up service.
The measure passed unanimously during a special commission meeting on Sept. 15.
The approved rate increases were significant for some property classes, including a fee jump from $775 to $1,560 for Centerville and Vaughn Schools. Full-time residences will see no new increase, though lots with two seasonal cabins will see their fees double.
Some of the new fees are so specific that they apply to just one property. For example, a property that contains the Evergreen storage units and an apartment complex at 2531 Vaughn Road will see its solid waste fee go from $694 to $6,240 under the new system.
The new fee schedule, as well as a breakdown of the impact on each affected property, is available here.
Commissioners passed a 45% increase to solid waste fees last year for all properties that use the container sites. According to multiple county presentations, officials eventually hope to convert from leased container sites to county-owned properties by purchasing land for drop-off sites. They also hope to add powered trash compactors so that trucks can transport more at a time, reducing transportation cost.
Last year’s fee increase allowed the solid waste budget, which does not routinely receive property tax revenue, to reach a surplus at the end of the 2025 fiscal year after years of deficit. But budget projections for the current fiscal year showed the fund heading toward another deficit, according to a presentation from county budget officer Trista Besich. A new line item drove up expenses: “capital outlay” for $280,000.
In a dispute last year with the property owner for the Belt-Armington solid waste site, county officials opted to abandon it and construct a new site dozens of feet away on a neighbor’s parcel. Besich said Friday that the $280,000 capital outlay could be used to develop the new site. Last year, residents questioned the county’s judgment to spend money for the new site rather than negotiating on the current site.
5 things to know in Great Falls
The Great Falls Symphony received a $500,000 gift from Diane and Roy Volk. In celebration of the donation, the symphony will rename its youth programs to be the Diane and Roy Volk Youth Orchestra Programs. The donation will help the symphony’s youth program continue its training, mentorship and performance programming for north-central Montana students. This includes playing in a full symphony orchestra with strings, woodwinds, brass and percussion. “Because this type of ensemble is rarely available in schools, Diane Volk’s gift ensures that the talented musicians of Great Falls will continue to benefit from this vital opportunity,” youth orchestra coordinator and conductor Kyara Nelson said in a press release.
A subcontractor awaiting payment for work on the abandoned Rocky Mountain Building in downtown Great Falls opted to take the issue to court. Steel supplier William Kronmiller and Co. filed the lawsuit against Sletten Construction, which contracted Kronmiller for services in 2023. Other defendants include Alluvion Health, which abandoned a renovation of the massive building. Kronmiller is the CEO of American Steel in Billings, and the company says that it is owed $753,102 from its work. Kronmiller has an active construction lien against Alluvion and the Rocky Mountain Building. So does Sletten, the primary contractor. That lien also remains active, and Sletten says it is owed $3.4 million. The building remains for sale at an asking price of $3.2 million.
The Great Falls International Airport says visitors can expect to see emergency vehicles, a controlled fire, smoke and actors simulating injuries during a full-scale emergency drill scheduled for Sept. 25. The drill will take place from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the airport, though the facility will remain open and flights will operate normally.
The Great Falls Clinic Legacy Foundation announced that Samantha Kaupish will take the role of interim executive director. Kaupish, who works in Great Falls Clinic administration, was a founding staff member of the legacy foundation and helped to set up the original board and programming structures. The foundation is also hiring for a fundraising director after Montana Free Press reported that the previous fundraising director had a history of fraud.
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks and NorthWestern Energy announced a fall opportunity to cross the Cochrane Dam by foot or bicycle on Sept. 27. From 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., the crossing will be available as part of National Public Lands Day. Access is available on River’s Edge Trail on the north or south shores of the Missouri River, and participants should expect a hike or bike route of about five miles.
