DUI Court gets one more year of funding

Kalispell will have at least one more year of a DUI Court program after the City Council approved grant funding on Monday.

The city is in the third year of the program administered by Municipal Judge Heidi Ulbricht.

The $112,479 state grant is matched by a city contribution of $42,315, but Ulbricht said that funding is represented by a portion of her salary and that of the court administrator.

“We’re trying to break the cycle of recidivism,” she said. The program takes 12 to 14 months to get through and has had seven graduates thus far.

“If we save one person’s life or a family, we’re doing our job and it’s a start.”

Council member Tim Kluesner noted that it has cost $22,000 per graduate.

Mayor Tammi Fisher said that would be a concern if the city had to make a cash contribution to the program.

Council member Jim Atkinson called the program “an incredibly humane, helpful approach for someone with an addiction.” He called the alternative “lock ‘em up and let ‘em go after they sober up — a patently absurd way of handling addictions.”

Council member Randy Kenyon asked Police Chief Roger Nasset if removing seven drunk drivers from the road makes the city discernibly safer.

Nasset said it does.

“Every drunk off the street makes it safer,” he said. “Someone drives drunk 30 to 60 times before they’re caught,” he said.

Ulbricht said she requires installation of an interlock device on DUI convicts’ vehicles for the second or third offenses. Fourth offenses are adjudicated in District Court.

She noted that 2011 is the last year of full funding for the grant, but it could be continued in reduced form in future years.

For 2012, Ulbricht said the Montana Department of Transportation likely would require a 30-percent reduction. That amount possibly could be funded by the Flathead Valley Chemical Dependency Center, she said.

The council also accepted a $50,000 state grant for selective traffic enforcement. The city has been participating in the program since the late 1970s, Nasset said.

Kalispell Police Department has received recognition several times for being the top performer statewide in apprehending impaired drivers and promoting seat belt usage.

In other action Monday, the council approved:

n Second reading of the planned unit development expansion of Kalispell Regional Medical Center.

n Changes to the employee personnel handbook for the first time since 2003.

City Manager Jane Howington noted that an audit of the city is available for viewing on the city’s website. The city is short $45,000 in required coverage for the recently upgraded wastewater treatment plant, she said. The council will consider a 5-percent sewer rate increase Feb. 22.

The city began broadcasting coverage of the state Legislature session this week. Coverage runs from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on channels 9 and 67 when the Legislature is in session.

Reporter Caleb Soptelean may be reached at 758-4483 or by e-mail at csoptelean@dailyinterlake.com.