Voters asked to back parks tax

Opponents say proposal is extra burden during tough times

The Nov. 4 referendum on whether Kalispell should set up a parks operations-and-maintenance tax is an advisory one.

The Kalispell City Council tentatively plans to discuss the results on Nov. 17 to decide whether:

. The council will follow the voters' decision to the letter.

. To pursue it if voters reject a parks tax.

. To change the formulas if voters approve the parks tax.

The formula being proposed to Kalispell's voters is to set the tax as a dollar amount reached by multiplying the square footage of a lot by 0.0055.

That translates to $38.50 a year for a 7,000-square-foot lot or $22 a year for a 4,000-square-foot lot.

No home would be required to pay more than $150 a year, and no commercial lot would be required to pay more than $500 a year, according to the proposal.

The proposed parks tax is expected to raise roughly $540,000 a year.

However, last month some council members speculated about installing another formula to assess the potential parks tax - a formula that would not be based on square footage.

The city government has been looking at the creation of a parks maintenance district - essentially a parks operations-and maintenance tax - to remove park expenses from the general fund.

"It secures funding for parks, parks maintenance and parks development," then-City Manager Jim Patrick said. "Right now, with the budget the way it is, we can't very well drop police and fire services [the two top priorities in Kalispell's general fund] . … Parks are one of the larger quality-of-life areas in the city."

With a parks maintenance district, the council can revisit the tax and the tax rates annually to see if any changes are needed.

The Kalispell Parks and Recreation Department has an almost $1.6 million budget for 2008-09. The department takes care of parks, the swimming pool, athletic complexes, sports programs and youth camps.

The actual care of parks is estimated to cost $567,570 for fiscal 2008-09, with most of that coming from the general fund. The remaining $1 million is paid by revenues generated by individual programs, plus sources other than the general fund.

The council struggled for months to trim the general fund budget so it won't be in the red.

The creation of a parks maintenance district is a proposed solution to eliminate future general fund woes by setting up a separate revenue stream for parks operations and maintenance.

The proposed tax's purpose is to create a reliable income source to take care of Kalispell's parks without competing with other city departments for the general fund money.

The money can be used only for routine operations and repairs, not for capital or major projects.

Opponents have said the proposed tax is an extra financial burden in worsening economic times - which was a major factor in sending the matter to a public vote.

A city questionnaire mailed this year to 7,000 homes resulted in 129 replies - most opposing the proposed tax.

However, some people said the city's parks are an important quality-of-life matter and they support the tax.

A 2006 city survey went to 1,600 Kalispell homes, with 363 adults responding. The survey had a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percent.

The survey results indicated:

. 43.2 percent supported the idea of a parks maintenance district, 22 percent opposed it and 34.7 percent did not know.

. 25.6 percent said they would support a parks-related tax with no conditions attached, while 55 percent would support such a tax under certain conditions.

. Out of the 80-percent group that would support a parks tax conditionally or unconditionally, 83 percent said they would support a tax of up to $25 annually and 63 percent would support up to $50 annually.

Reporter John Stang may be reached at 758-4429 or by e-mail at jstang@dailyinterlake.com