Agencies real plus on border

SHELBY, Mont. – Shelby town leaders made a hefty wager in August 2003 when they bought a group of former NorthWestern Energy buildings for nearly $160,000.

They speculated that the sprawling industrial buildings near the U.S.-Canada border would become a valuable game piece in the federal mandate to protect the country from terrorists.

They were right.

Contractors next week begin renovating the buildings to accommodate up to 40 new U.S. Customs and Border Protection employees.

Shelby gets $6.5 million over 20 years to lease the buildings to the federal government. The Hi-Line town also is enjoying the impact of 40 new families in a community of 3,200.

“We knew they were coming, and we positioned ourselves to take advantage of it,” Shelby Mayor Larry Bonderud said.

Other Hi-Line communities also are cashing in on federal spending as the Department of Homeland Security works to accommodate about 180 new U.S. Customs and Border Protection employees stationed across Montana’s northern tier since 2001.

On the Hi-line, where the population has been ebbing for years, the new employees and their families bring with them a long list of benefits: new jobs, larger tax bases, more school children, new church members and fresh volunteers for nonprofits.

“Most of these (border employees) bring kids to the schools. They’re active in the community. They buy nice homes,” said Bob Rice, mayor of Havre, where the U.S. Customs and Border Protection will build a new station and a new sector headquarters. “It’s been a real plus for us.”

The number of U.S. Customs and Border Protection employees in Montana has grown from about 145 to roughly 320 since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

The new employees work for two branches of U.S. Customs and Border Protection with one shared goal: anti-terrorism. Both agencies are part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection Border Patrol - formerly the U.S. Border Patrol - added about 60 agents in the Treasure State. Their job is to patrol between ports of entry.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection Field Operations has roughly doubled its number of officers to 228.