Council grants city manager’s request to move outside city

Faced with the challenge of finding suitable housing due to a lack of availability, Whitefish City Manager Dana Smith recently petitioned the city council to live outside the city limits. 

City council granted the request waiving a requirement in the city’s charter that mandates the city manager live inside the city.

“I desire to live in Whitefish, that is a fact,” Smith said. “As you know we’ve added one to our family. I’m just struggling to find a rental in Whitefish that’s long-term that fits our family.”

The city manager is the only city employee required to reside within city limits, but the council may waive that requirement, like they did for the previous city manager, Adam Hammatt.

The council voted unanimously to allow Smith to find housing outside of Whitefish.

Smith said some of the homes she found are being rented for part of the year and on a monthly basis during the summer, making it more of a tourist home than a full-time family home. 

“Unfortunately, what that does is it pushes individuals like myself to look elsewhere,” she said. “I will still prioritize Whitefish, so I'm still looking in Whitefish, but if something doesn’t come up, I'm going to have to look outside city limits.”

Smith and her significant other have two children and are in need of more space. 

“Rentals are hard to come by for a three-bedroom house,” she said. “It's truly a supply issue.”

The city manager is the chief executive officer of the city and administers the city’s business and implements the council’s plans and directives. Smith has served in the position since December 2019.