Richtmyer Elected Chair Of Broadwater County Commission
Author: Linda Kent, MT43 News Staff Reporter
Richtmyer Elected Chair of Broadwater County Commission
Linda Kent
MT43 News Staff Reporter
The Broadwater County Commissioners elected Lindsey Richtmyer as commission chair during the regular Jan. 8 meeting. Richtmyer, a long-time Montana resident and 10-year resident of Broadwater County, replaces Darrel Folkvord. Folkvord lost his re-election bid to Jesse Swenson in November.
Married to Tory Richtmyer, whose family has ranched in Broadwater County since 1950, Lindsey Richtmyer represents Commission District 2, which includes northeast Broadwater County. The couple and their son split time between the Richtmyer ranch and Lindsey Richtmyer’s family ranch in the Castle Mountains of Broadwater County.
“When we moved back to Townsend in 2020, I wanted to be more involved in the community where my husband grew up and where we are raising our son,” Richtmyer said of her reasons for running for a commission seat.” Change was happening very quickly, and I saw the collision of traditional, small-town agriculture life with unprecedented growth and development. I believe in being as proactive as possible and saw the opportunity to be involved as the community faced those challenges.”
“The commissioners are the closest government to the people,” Richtmyer said. “We are the boots-on-the-ground part of government that you can call, meet, and talk with.”
When asked what she sees as her biggest accomplishments as a commissioner so far, Richtmyer said, “Developing a successful working relationship with the other two commissioners, elected officials, and department heads. When you’re new, it’s a baptism by fire, but establishing respectful relationships that function through disagreements, idea sharing, and discussion of difficult topics allow us all to accomplish more and tackle the tough jobs. We have been able to dive into and address items that were previously sidelined as well as complete larger, more demanding projects.”
Looking toward the future, Richtmyer said the county has an immediate opportunity to improve communication with the residents of the county. She cited the limitations of using social media as a motivator for the county to explore additional channels, including TextMyGov, print, web, and printed postings. In addition, the county will have a regular update column in MT43 News beginning in February.
“We want the residents of Broadwater to have a better understanding of what we are working on and why we are making certain decisions,” Richtmyer said.
Among the challenges she sees for the future, Richtmyer said working with the legislature to bring relief or reform to the state’s property tax system for funding county government will be a priority if the county is to meet the needs of its constituents.
“Land and water use, aging bridges, growing commercial industry for better jobs, solutions to address the housing cost and shortages, and funding emergency services across the county are samples of some of the other challenges we are currently tackling,” she said.
Asked for general thoughts, Richtmyer responded, “Be involved and participate! Posting on social media doesn’t help solve community problems. Public involvement helps shape policies, processes, and change. The County has several board openings and options for participation. All the commission and county board meetings are live-streamed and recorded. Public comment can be submitted in writing or online and in-person at a meeting. Meetings can be watched at https://www.youtube.com/@broadwatercounty. The County also has a new website at https://www.broadwatercountymt.gov. You can find meeting agendas and documents, public notices, and department information on the website. You can also sign up for text message notifications from the County. Send the message BCNOTIFY to 91896 to opt in.”
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Image 1 Caption: Broadwater County Commissioner Lindsey Richtmyer
Linda Kent Photo
