Great Falls operates under the Commission-Manager form of government, established by charter, with self-governing powers.
The City Charter was adopted June 3, 1986 and took effect July 1, 1986.
Under it, the CityCommission is the legislative and policy-making body. The Commission employs a CityManager to direct the day-to-day operations of the City and to carry out Commission policy. The Manager is assisted by staff and by the directors of the Departments.
Self-governing powers matter in practice: a self-governing city may exercise any power not expressly prohibited to it by the state constitution, statute or its own charter, rather than only those powers expressly granted. That is why the City can legislate on matters — fireworks, ethics, nuisance, parking administration — where a general-powers municipality would need a specific grant.
Great Falls is a First Class Montana city, founded 1884 and incorporated 1888, the county seat of CascadeCounty, and the third largest city in the state.
The charter fixes some tax limits directly, including the mill limit for the library. When state legislation changed mill values in 2025, the Commission had to recalibrate that charter limit by resolution rather than by charter amendment — see LibraryMillLevy.
Form of government: https://greatfallsmt.gov/264/Form-of-Government Demographics: https://greatfallsmt.gov/229/Demographics