Biography:
I am a third generation Montanan: my father grew up on a ranch outside of Miles City, and my mother grew up in Whitefish and Libby. I was born in Missoula and grew up in the University District. After attending college at Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vermont, I lived in San Francisco for two years while I worked as a legal assistant, then attended law school at the University of Colorado, in Boulder. Returning to the Rocky Mountains for law school felt like coming home, and while in law school I met my husband, Andrew Koenig, who was also a law student.
Following law school my husband and I lived in Ventura, California, where I practiced civil litigation (family law, construction defect and insurance defense) law for seven years. Andy and I had three children: Chase, Kate, and Rex, and in 2004 we moved back to Montana to raise our family and be close to my relatives.
I now practice law part-time; writing federal court appeals for Social Security Disability cases, but I spend most of my working hours each week on City Council; attending meetings, researching issues, and meeting with constituents.
My Priorities:
Further, we need to acknowledge that legislative decisions made for the last few decades have shifted the burden onto commercial and residential property taxes. For decades the legislature has pared back Business Equipment taxes, in order to grow business in Montana, yet when a source of revenue is cut, but not replaced with a new source, the burden shifts to the remaining taxes (property tax), in order to fill the void.
Additionally, federal and state cuts in spending in numerous areas have pushed costs down to the local level. For example, three years ago the legislature severely cut the Department of Public Health and Human Services, which eliminated many mental health services in Montana. The City of Missoula has experienced high increases in calls for police and fire as a direct result of this state action.
When combined with a tax system tied to property values, our rising Missoula property values create the perfect storm. We will continue to see dramatically rising property taxes, yet still have difficulty funding our local schools, county and city government. It is not fair to our citizens that local government is the backstop on taxes. However, if we are the backstop, then we should be given tools by the legislature so we can broaden our tax base and gain revenue from sources other than property taxes. This means being able to decide, as a community, if we want a local option sales tax targeting tourism dollars and luxury spending. Revenue from this type of local option sales tax would go far in sufficiently funding local government, while also refunding up to 25% of property taxes, thus making property taxes lower, with less need to raise taxes in the future.
For the last four legislative sessions I have traveled to Helena to testify in support of tax reform. So far, there has been no success as the legislature has not deemed it a priority, which I find incredibly disappointing.
These are my priorities for a third term; additionally I support a well-funded fire and police department, well maintained roads and infrastructure, and ensuring that our City can deliver essential services well. Much of this goes back to the core issue of tax reform, which impacts all city services.
Paid for by Gwen Jones for City Council, P.O. Box 131, Missoula, MT 59806, Bryan von Lossberg, Treasurer.
I am a third generation Montanan: my father grew up on a ranch outside of Miles City, and my mother grew up in Whitefish and Libby. I was born in Missoula and grew up in the University District. After attending college at Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vermont, I lived in San Francisco for two years while I worked as a legal assistant, then attended law school at the University of Colorado, in Boulder. Returning to the Rocky Mountains for law school felt like coming home, and while in law school I met my husband, Andrew Koenig, who was also a law student.
Following law school my husband and I lived in Ventura, California, where I practiced civil litigation (family law, construction defect and insurance defense) law for seven years. Andy and I had three children: Chase, Kate, and Rex, and in 2004 we moved back to Montana to raise our family and be close to my relatives.
I now practice law part-time; writing federal court appeals for Social Security Disability cases, but I spend most of my working hours each week on City Council; attending meetings, researching issues, and meeting with constituents.
My Priorities:
- Affordable Housing is a huge problem in Missoula. Council has crafted a general policy, and has started implementing specific facets of the policy through zoning changes, ordinance changes, and other tools. The creation of our Affordable Housing Trust Fund in 2020 was a big component of that policy, as was our comprehensive Code Reform project. As Missoula strives to create more housing stock, we also work to create affordable housing through numerous programs which can keep the costs of building and the rents lower. Providing shelter for our unhoused residents is also important, and based on the summer of 2023, Missoula needs a second shelter not only for winter but year round.
- Equity is an area in which Missoula must move forward. For the last three years the City has done an equity audit, and extensive training has been offered for all City employees and elected officials. Figuring our our way forward as a community that values all who live and visit here is important, and Missoula should lead the way in Montana.
- Climate Change Myself and my fellow City Counselors need to do the best we can to minimize our ecological footprint while also proactively adapting our city to meet the new needs that the changing climate produces. We have a City of Missoula Conservation and Climate Action Plan, a Zero by Fifty waste reduction plan, and we recently passed a Resolution calling for 100% Clean Energy by 2030. City staff works hard to make our city facilities green. The Energy and Climate team continues to work to advise the City on how to become more green, including creating plans for a large scale solar installation. Climate Smart Missoula, the County and the City have spent the last year collaborating with the public to create a Climate Resiliency Plan. Many plans have been created, now we need to work hard to follow through and implement them.
- Tax Reform Property taxes are rising in Missoula. Yet our local governmental entities of the County, the City and Missoula County Public Schools struggle to keep up with the needs of a growing population. Our archaic, obsolete and dysfunctional tax system is based on historical natural resource industries such as timber and mining, which have receded as Missoula has changed. The system must be reformed to fit the modern city that Missoula has become. Our future depends on pulling dollars from our growth industry in Montana: Tourism.
Further, we need to acknowledge that legislative decisions made for the last few decades have shifted the burden onto commercial and residential property taxes. For decades the legislature has pared back Business Equipment taxes, in order to grow business in Montana, yet when a source of revenue is cut, but not replaced with a new source, the burden shifts to the remaining taxes (property tax), in order to fill the void.
Additionally, federal and state cuts in spending in numerous areas have pushed costs down to the local level. For example, three years ago the legislature severely cut the Department of Public Health and Human Services, which eliminated many mental health services in Montana. The City of Missoula has experienced high increases in calls for police and fire as a direct result of this state action.
When combined with a tax system tied to property values, our rising Missoula property values create the perfect storm. We will continue to see dramatically rising property taxes, yet still have difficulty funding our local schools, county and city government. It is not fair to our citizens that local government is the backstop on taxes. However, if we are the backstop, then we should be given tools by the legislature so we can broaden our tax base and gain revenue from sources other than property taxes. This means being able to decide, as a community, if we want a local option sales tax targeting tourism dollars and luxury spending. Revenue from this type of local option sales tax would go far in sufficiently funding local government, while also refunding up to 25% of property taxes, thus making property taxes lower, with less need to raise taxes in the future.
For the last four legislative sessions I have traveled to Helena to testify in support of tax reform. So far, there has been no success as the legislature has not deemed it a priority, which I find incredibly disappointing.
These are my priorities for a third term; additionally I support a well-funded fire and police department, well maintained roads and infrastructure, and ensuring that our City can deliver essential services well. Much of this goes back to the core issue of tax reform, which impacts all city services.
Paid for by Gwen Jones for City Council, P.O. Box 131, Missoula, MT 59806, Bryan von Lossberg, Treasurer.