{
  "locality": "livingston-mt",
  "year": 2026,
  "description": "Issue trails connect consequential Livingston topics across meetings, votes, source documents and policy-origin records. Only documented milestones are included.",
  "issues": [
    {
      "id": "stormwater-utility",
      "title": "Stormwater utility & rates",
      "status": "Rates adopted",
      "summary": "Livingston's stormwater utility policy developed over multiple years, with documented technical input, feasibility work and later Commission action on rates.",
      "latest_action": "On September 15, 2026, the City Commission approved Resolution 5207 establishing stormwater rates.",
      "tags": [
        "stormwater",
        "rates",
        "utility",
        "AE2S",
        "Headwaters Economics",
        "TD&H Engineering"
      ],
      "links": [
        {
          "label": "Policy Origin timeline",
          "url": "/livingston-mt/influence/"
        },
        {
          "label": "September 15, 2026 meeting brief",
          "url": "/livingston-mt/meetings/2026-09-15/"
        },
        {
          "label": "Vote Tracker",
          "url": "/livingston-mt/votes/"
        }
      ],
      "timeline": [
        {
          "date": "2020-10-20",
          "title": "Stormwater utility creation presented to Commission",
          "detail": "The official City Commission meeting record lists a Storm Water Utility Creation Presentation and Resolution 4926 authorizing the City Manager to sign an agreement with AE2S.",
          "source": "https://www.livingstonmontana.org/citycommission/page/city-commission-meeting-9"
        },
        {
          "date": "2023",
          "title": "Preliminary Engineering Report accepted",
          "detail": "The City's stormwater infrastructure page says the City Commission accepted a Preliminary Engineering Report for a Stormwater Drainage System in 2023.",
          "source": "https://www.livingstonmontana.org/publicworks/page/stormwater-infrastructure-projects"
        },
        {
          "date": "2024",
          "title": "Feasibility study completed",
          "detail": "The City's stormwater infrastructure page says the Commission requested a Stormwater Utility Feasibility Study that was completed in 2024.",
          "source": "https://www.livingstonmontana.org/publicworks/page/stormwater-infrastructure-projects"
        },
        {
          "date": "2025-03-04",
          "title": "Feasibility study published",
          "detail": "The City-hosted feasibility study identifies AE2S as the preparer, describes collaboration with Headwaters Economics and the City, and lists TD&H Engineering among contributors.",
          "source": "https://www.livingstonmontana.org/sites/default/files/fileattachments/public_works/page/9107/city_of_livingston_stormwater_utility_feasibility_study_report_20250304.pdf"
        },
        {
          "date": "2026-09-15",
          "title": "Stormwater rates approved",
          "detail": "FOIPub's verified meeting record shows Resolution 5207 passed 4-1.",
          "source": "/livingston-mt/meetings/2026-09-15/"
        }
      ],
      "url": "/livingston-mt/issues/stormwater/"
    },
    {
      "id": "city-manager-discipline-2026",
      "title": "City Manager disciplinary actions",
      "status": "June action rescinded",
      "summary": "FOIPub tracks the public Commission actions taken in June and September 2026 concerning City Manager Grant Gager. This trail records the actions and votes that can be verified from the public meeting record; it does not evaluate the underlying personnel claims or the merits of the Commission's decisions.",
      "latest_action": "On September 1, 2026, the Commission rescinded the June 10 disciplinary votes, then separately voted 5-0 to exonerate Gager's record based on those June decisions.",
      "tags": [
        "City Manager",
        "Grant Gager",
        "discipline",
        "personnel",
        "rescission",
        "exoneration"
      ],
      "links": [
        {
          "label": "June 10 meeting record",
          "url": "/livingston-mt/meetings/2026-06-10/"
        },
        {
          "label": "September 1 meeting brief",
          "url": "/livingston-mt/meetings/2026-09-01/"
        },
        {
          "label": "Vote Tracker",
          "url": "/livingston-mt/votes/"
        }
      ],
      "timeline": [
        {
          "date": "2026-06-10",
          "title": "Commission takes disciplinary action",
          "detail": "FOIPub's review of the official recording confirms passage of a motion for documented counseling and de-escalation counseling related to an employee complaint and findings. The exact tally is not independently verified because the roll-call sequence is not cleanly preserved.",
          "source": "/livingston-mt/meetings/2026-06-10/"
        },
        {
          "date": "2026-09-01",
          "title": "June disciplinary votes rescinded",
          "detail": "The Commission passed a motion rescinding the June 10 disciplinary votes. FOIPub confirms passage but does not publish an exact tally for this motion because every individual response is not cleanly preserved in the transcript review.",
          "source": "/livingston-mt/meetings/2026-09-01/"
        },
        {
          "date": "2026-09-01",
          "title": "Separate exoneration motion passes",
          "detail": "The Commission separately voted 5-0 to exonerate Gager's record based on the June 10 decisions.",
          "source": "/livingston-mt/meetings/2026-09-01/"
        }
      ],
      "url": "/livingston-mt/issues/city-manager-discipline-2026/"
    }
  ]
}