Cogswell's Administration Refuses to Answer Questions on Audit and How Leases are Managed

If citizens want to know, they must insist on answers from their officials

In response to questions asked of the City of Red Lodge, Mayor Cogswell’s administration has responded. The reply is presented in its entirety:

I have provided to you what I could find in our binders that hold the City’s agreements/leases that have been done over the years.  The additional items you are requesting will require me to look into further, going through boxes of records to see if I can find these additional items, which will take time and will require an additional fee to be paid for said time.  As far as the questions you are asking, those do not follow our records request process and M.C.A code 2-6-1002: “Definitions: (1) "Public records" includes any paper, correspondence, form, book, photograph, microfilm, magnetic  tape, computer storage media, map, drawing, or other document, including all copies thereof, regardless of physical form or characteristics, that has been made or received by a state agency in connection with the transaction of official business and preserved for informational value or as evidence of a transaction and all other records or documents required by law to be filed with or kept by any agency of the state of Montana.”   Those questions will not be answered per your records request.  Please let me know if you would like me to look further into the records to find those documents you are requesting and I will give you an estimate for my time to do so.

The following questions will remain unanswered unless the citizens of Red Lodge use their power to insist their officials respond:

How were the over-collected taxes (as described in the two most recent audit reports) handled?

Asked to review this article, Councilmember Jody Ronning, who sits on the Administration and Finance Committee stated that the “over” collection of property taxes mentioned in the audits was the result of using the form available for calculating mills and carrying forward property tax relief generated by resort taxes.

“This was not a property tax overage error, but a clerical issue because the state form is not designed for communities that have resort tax and it is a legal requirement that 5% of resort tax collected and any overage of the budgeted amount of resort tax collected must be used for property tax relief.”

The auditors suggested not filling out that section of the form but to include a separate spreadsheet correctly showing the max mills assessed which includes the property tax relief from the resort tax. The City will do this going forward.

Is there a master lease for the Chamber of Commerce sublease? Where is the Exhibit A that was mentioned as attached?

The lease with Rocky Point LLP (bowling alley lease?) provides for rent of $5,040 per year; the mayor has stated that it is $8,000 per year.  Is there an addendum or other documentation that was not provided?

Is there a fully executed pasture lease in effect between the City and Jim Bushnell/Eric Bottorff?  Has there been a competitive bid process?  How was the $600 per year number arrived at?