In 1951, the Montana Legislative Assembly created the Office of State Controller to assume the duties of the state accountant. The state controller was appointed by the governor for an eight year term and was directed to establish a system of financial control, install a uniform accounting and reporting system, examine appropriation requests, and submit a revised and final budget to the legislature. The controller was also the ex-officio State Purchasing Agent.
In 1963, the Montana legislature created the Department of Administration under the Office of the State Controller. The State Controller was made the chief executive of the Department, with Divisions for Accounting, Purchasing, Architecture and Engineering, and General Services. The controller became responsible for centralized mailing and telephone systems for state government, allocation of office space, custodial care of the Capitol and other state property, records management for state records, preparation of building programs, appointments of architects, supervision of construction and renovation of state buildings, disposal of state property (including the Montana Centennial Train), purchasing of major equipment for state agencies, and distribution of surplus commodities.
The controller also oversaw several advisory bodies including a council to create construction standards for state buildings (this later became the Building Code Council), a fiscal coordinating committee, a personnel study committee, the State Board of Review which studied pro rata charges, and a committee on data processing equipment which worked to coordinate the selection of computer systems and equipment in state government. As a result of this latter committee, a Data Processing Division was created within the Department of Administration. A Management Systems Unit was also created and worked to produce the Statewide Budget and Accounting System (SBAS) that went into operation in 1972.
As a result of the Executive Reorganization Act passed in 1971, the Department of Administration was reconstituted and the title state controller was changed to director.
Those serving as state controller included W.F. Koch, Walter Anderson, Ralph Kenyon, Doyle B. Saxby, H.F. (Mike) Weggenbaum, and Jack Crosser.
This collection contains records of the Office of the State Controller and includes general correspondence (1958-1971) with state agencies, the governor, and members of the Legislative Assembly, interoffice correspondence (1965-1971) between the controller and other members of the Department of Administration staff, subject files (1961-1971) relating to state agencies, advisory bodies, and specific projects (e.g., SBAS, surplus commodities), miscellany (1961-1969, undated), and clippings (1968-1969).
The collection is arranged by series.
Collection is open for research.
The Montana Historical Society is the owner of the materials in the Library & Archives and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from the Library & Archives before any reproduction use. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all of the materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from the copyright owners.
In 2024, the various collections of the Montana Department of Administration were integrated under one collection identifier, RS 493, in order to help facilitate access, reduce redundancy in the MTHS catalog, and to follow best archival practices.
Collections from the Montana Department of Administration's various Divisions and Bureaus
that were previously treated as separate entities are now integrated into
Item description and date. Collection Title. Collection Number. Box and Folder numbers. Montana Historical Society Library & Archives, Helena, Montana.
Acquisition information is available upon request.
Printed material transferred to Library.
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the Montana Historical Society Archives catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search under these terms.