Vote on parks tax is a good move

Inter Lake editorial

Balancing a budget is not an easy task, especially when a city is emerging from a period of unprecedented growth.

The city of Kalispell and its coffers are feeling the aftershocks of a dizzying period of rapid development over the last few years. City services were expanded to keep pace with growth, but what hasn't kept pace is the needed revenue.

The end result: budget woes.

In recent weeks the Kalispell City Council has mulled the idea of a parks operations-and-maintenance tax to raise about $540,000 annually. The new tax would create a reliable income source to take care of Kalispell's parks without competing with other city departments for general-fund money.

The council this week made the right decision to allow voters to decide during the November general election whether or not they want to pay the new tax. Parks and open space are great attributes of Kalispell and the Flathead Valley, and it should be the residents who decide if this is the best way to keep our green spaces looking good.

In terms of gauging public opinion, putting the measure on the ballot is the fairest way.

The council's initial plan - to follow a state law that says if more than 50 percent of property owners mail in protests, the council cannot pass the tax proposal - was cumbersome at best.

Protesters argued that the 50-percent-plus law essentially is toothless because the city mailed out 7,400 comment notices and it's unlikely that 50 percent would be mailed back. Then there was the directive that e-mailed protests wouldn't count as official because they lack signatures, another obstacle for citizens.

Even if voters approve the parks levy (which wouldn't produce revenue for another year), Kalispell isn't out of the woods yet with its money troubles. The city still needs to deal with a predicted shortfall of half a million dollars.

During tight economic times, no one - not even local government - is immune from job cuts. The harsh reality is that some of the city's 200 or so employees may lose their jobs to balance Kalispell's budget for the coming year. Council member Randy Kenyon's words no doubt are still ringing in his colleagues' ears: "If push comes to shove, we're going to have to lose employees."

We commend the council for considering all kinds of revenue scenarios - the parks levy included - to keep the city fiscally on track in a struggling economy. That's good business, and ultimately that's money Kalispell can take to the bank.