City Council 2023: Kendra Shaw

I’ve served on City Council for the last four years and am proud of the work accomplished in my first term. I’ve voted in support of the first new zoning code in 50 years; two safe routes to schools studies; dozens of zone changes in support of small businesses; a composting facility at the landfill; TIF funding for nearly 100 new housing units downtown; optimized bus routes; a new water treatment plant; and two public safety levies that collectively increased funding for police, fire, prosecution, municipal court, code enforcement and crime prevention by $11.1 million/year. As proud as I am of this work, there is still much to do. I hope to continue working to improve Billings for current and future residents in my second term.

I’ve worked as a grant writer, editor, teacher, and small business owner. I hold a B.A. from the University of Montana and an M.F.A. from the Helen Zell Writers’ Program at the University of Michigan where I was also a Zell Postgraduate Fellow. I’m also the mother of two young daughters (ages 5 and 11) and bring that perspective, always, to City Council. I want Billings to be a place my kids want to return to as adults.

City Council races are non-partisan; we’re elected to represent our entire ward, not one political party or another. In the last four years I’ve worked with everyone on council on projects, initiatives, and committees. Rather than caucusing along party lines, City Council “caucuses” on issues ranging from public safety to TIF policy. I brought forward an initiative last year to establish several council sub-committees, including one focused on state legislation. It’s made up of five council members (one from each ward) and we met over 20 times during the legislative session to discuss bills affecting the city. It was a highly-successful collaboration among council members with a variety of political viewpoints and the committee is now working with local legislators during the interim to advance several public safety bills next session. This is a great example of how critical it is for council members to collaborate across conventional party lines.

My top three policy priorities are public safety and crime prevention, downtown revitalization, and housing. To attract the workforce Billings needs, the city must be safe—and feel safe—have a vibrant core, and have enough housing that everyone has a bed to sleep in. These are basic building blocks for attracting workforce to any location. Today, experts estimate that anywhere from 27% to 41% of workers have the ability to work remotely, and thus can live anywhere. This number is even higher among younger generations. Attracting mobile workers to Billings—to raise their families and start businesses—begins with safety, housing affordability, and “having things to do.” Cities that invest in reducing crime statistics and improving public infrastructure are inherently more attractive than those that year after year chip away at these budgets.

I believe Billings should aspire to be “the best place in Montana to raise a family,” and this will also mean prioritizing crime prevention on a broad scale. Activating safe, accessible public spaces (like parks and community centers) are proven crime prevention strategies nationwide. The upcoming parks bond proposes building three new community centers at Castlerock, South Park, and Centennial, plus updating the aged facilities at North Park and the Zimmerman Center. Providing free or low-cost recreation programming in all areas of town will give families and youth healthy activities that affect both physical and mental health.

With the passage of SB382 (Montana Land Use Planning Act), Billings will update the city’s growth policy within the next three years. As we go through this process I will support the advancing the following policies: transitioning to administrative processes (city staff) for development that meets zoning laws; applying the city’s upcoming cost of services study to the annexation policy; eliminating or reducing parking requirements; leveraging public land that’s either unused or unlikely to be developed by the city; and increasing “by right” opportunities (like ADUs and duplexes) for property owners. I also support targeting TIF funding toward housing—both affordable and market rate, as increasing the housing supply at all levels will naturally, over time, lower average housing costs. There is no magic solution, but the city has the above tools at our disposal and we can—and should—better utilize them to make housing more affordable.

Tax Increment Finance districts are one of the few economic development tools available to local governments. Billings’ three districts all have different master plans and priorities. In the last 18 months the downtown TIF district put forward several major housing projects and council approved funding for nearly 100 new housing units downtown. Over the last four years, council has approved business development projects in the EBURD (East Billings Urban Renewal District), like the new Yellowstone Ice and Water facility, and infrastructure investment in the SBURA (South Billings Urban Renewal District) such as paving dirt streets, improving Optimist Park, and extending water and sewer infrastructure for job-generating projects (like the new Coca Cola plant). All of these projects have incentivized infill in one way or another—either by increasing housing density or opening new economic opportunities. Given the current housing crisis facing Yellowstone County, and Montana, I support prioritizing housing projects for funding, particularly in the downtown and EBURD. TIF investment in Billings is by definition a public-private partnership, as Billings’ regulations call for a preferred 1 to 5 ratio of public to private investment for projects. This model works well and helps the private sector “bridge the gap” between the cost of development on city outskirts and the city core.

Over the last four years, two public safety levies have increased funding for police, fire, prosecution, municipal court, and code enforcement by $11.1 million per year. Billings should feel proud of this excellent show of support; it demonstrates a strong community commitment to improving public safety. We must continue supporting first responders to combat the city’s violent and property crime rates, but we also need to look beyond traditional services. I’m a strong supporter of the city analyzing feasibility for a Family Justice Center. Last year, over half of the violent assaults in Billings were PFMAs (partner family member assaults). That is unacceptable for our community. These assaults affect not only individuals, but the entire family unit, and are destructive long-term for child witnesses. To break these cycles, the city needs to serve as a leader by bringing existing social services and case management under one “safe” roof. In September the Family Justice Center Alliance is returning to Billings for a multi-day strategic planning session with community partners. It’s not that the city needs to take on offering a bunch of new services—many already exist—but I do see it as the city’s role to provide leadership and rally critical stakeholders.

I voted to put this bond question on the ballot and strongly support it. City Councilmembers, city staff, and community leaders spent over 18 months honing this proposal. The city has over $250 million in backlogged projects and a great deal of thought went into prioritizing these into the $143 million ask. We were guided by several principles, including that all areas of the community, and all ages and abilities, needed major “catalyst” projects. Funding from this bond will build out the Landon’s Legacy Miracle Field project at Poly Vista Park, will activate the Yellowstone River with Coulson Park, and will complete the master vision for beaches, trails, and fishing docks at the west end reservoirs planned at the new water treatment plant. There are also several critical trail connections included in this package, like the Stagecoach Trail, which will be a pedestrian/bike-only trail off the Rims. These multi-use trails are accessible year-round and utilized by people of all ages and all modalities. In addition to the everyday benefits for local Billings residents, the Multi-Generational Recreation Center will also be a facility that can host sports tournaments. Instead of having to drive to Wyoming or North Dakota for a swim competition, families will be able to drive across town, and sleep in their own beds. Not only will this save money for those who frequently participate in sports tournaments, it will make it much easier for grandparents, family members, and friends to attend. Hosting tournaments of this scale will also directly benefit other Billings small businesses. 

Billings hasn’t built out a community park (like Pioneer, North Park etc) since the early 80’s. We haven’t even voted on increased parks and recreation funding since 1999—that’s a long time. Our parks department does a great job maintaining what we have, but truly all segments of town feel they’ve been left behind. In the heights, Castlerock Park’s build out began in 1982 but was never finished. South Park pool—the oldest outdoor pool in Montana—had a pump break last summer and is in desperate need of a rebuild. On the west end, Cottonwood Park is just a field, and Centennial Park lacks the amenities included in the master plan. It’s not that any one area of the city has been neglected—it’s that over decades our community has under-invested in parks and recreation throughout Billings. It’s high time to ask the community if they’d like more.

As the governing document for the city, it’s important to regularly review whether the charter still best serves the interest of Billings residents. I still support much of the foundational framework, but I question whether the size and term limits for council and the mayor contribute to efficient, fiscally-responsible governance. Eleven elected officials (two per each ward plus the mayor) is in my opinion too large and slows down the city’s ability to efficiently make decisions. High rates of turnover on council and the steep learning curve for newly-elected officials further exacerbates this problem. Community expectations have also risen and a largely “volunteer” council simply cannot attend every meeting or respond to every email—with fewer council members, these roles could be funded at a more professional level.

The Billings community should also have a conversation about the 74 mill levy cap and how it relates to future funding for city services. State law already prohibits local governments from raising general fund mills by more than half the rate of inflation. Absent a local option authority (local sales tax) or another tax alternative, this mill levy cap became unrealistic decades ago—it’s been raised by the voters half a dozen times. If nothing else, the charter should reflect that the cost of city services is not a stagnant number; like any business, the city is responsible for cost of living and other inflationary increases.

Absolutely. I voted for the WDO (Welcoming Diversity Ordinance) in 2020. The need has only grown since then. Multiple studies have found that 1 in 5 members of Gen Z (a significant part of the workforce Billings desperately needs to attract) self-identify as LGBTQ+. Alienating 20% of the city’s needed workforce is an unsustainable and regressive economic model. It makes Billings stand out from other Montana cities in a negative way. Helena, Whitefish, Bozeman, Missoula, and Butte have all passed NDOs. For the ordinance, I support full protections which include prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in private employment, housing, and public accommodations.

I’ve always supported the TBID; their work is essential in increasing economic activity for local small businesses. The TBID’s “bed tax” is also one of the few options available to local governments to shift costs from property taxes to visitors. Billings hosts approximately 2.6 million visitors a year. They drive our roads, drink our water, play in our parks, call our police, yet pay next-to-nothing for these services. I want to encourage tourism by supporting economic models that shift costs from 117,000 Billings to those visiting, which is why I’m particularly thrilled the TBID has proposed increasing the nightly bed tax to support the operational deficit for the Multi-General Recreation Center. Community centers like this typically operate at a loss, but if the bond passes the TBID has committed up to $800,000/year to fill the gap in rec center’s operational budget. This is an innovative use of funding that will directly benefit Billings residents, not to mention local small businesses.