Some residents are upset that the ordinance isn’t being enforced as promised or that people are allowed to camp in parks. Others are concerned about how the restrictions will affect unhoused people, especially as winter approaches.
Members of the Missoula City Council on Wednesday approved a one-year contract to provide security around the city's two homeless shelters and help enforce the city's new policy on urban camping.
Two members of the Missoula City Council on Monday maintained their opposition to a contract between the city and the Poverello Center over the management of the Johnson Street homeless shelter.
While the city and the Poverello Center have turned an eye toward making changes to Missoula's homeless services, keeping the Johnson Street shelter open for another two years remains the top priority – for now.
David Moore writes, "The City of Missoula’s ordinance that allows overnight shelter in parks is an attempt to groom the citizens into accepting a lower quality of life for the entire community."
A portion of the city's tax increment collected for economic development will instead go to fund the county's share of the Johnson Street shelter in the new fiscal year.
City officials said the crisis services levy, voted down by voters in 2022, and the two emergency mills that are now on the table aren't an equal comparison.
The city floated a crisis services levy in 2022 to fund homeless services, including shelters and other programs. However, the levy failed to pass, leaving the city in search of funding.