Kalispell Council gives unanimous OK to budget

The Kalispell City Council on Monday night voted unanimously for the 2011 fiscal year final budget, and again put off a decision on the Westside Tax Increment Financing District.

The vote to approve the final budget was 7-0 with council members Randy Kenyon and Kari Gabriel absent.

It was the first unanimous budget approval in almost a decade.

Council member Bob Hafferman noted it was the first time in his nine years in office he has voted for the budget. It was also the first time for council member Tim Kluesner since he was seated in August 2005.

Hafferman, whose first term began in January 2002, said the budget is not a good budget, but he believes it is a step in the right direction. He believes it represents a good effort to turn the corner and put the city’s financial house in order.

Hafferman is pleased to see the city working toward more public involvement, citing information available on the city’s Web site, www.kalispell.com. Hafferman said he’s not pleased with the budget, but is hopeful.

He added, however, “if the economy of Kalispell continues to stagger, we’re a long way from out of the hole. There’ll be a need for more changes and cuts.”

Hafferman said he wouldn’t vote for any increases in fees under present circumstances. He’s still concerned with what he called a buildup of office staff, impact fees, enterprise fund bonding and the city airport.

Kluesner said he felt like saying “amen” to Hafferman’s comments and noted it was the first time he would be voting in favor of the budget.

The final budget of $42.21 million was a reduction of $2.28 million from the preliminary budget, thanks in large part to City Manager Jane Howington’s decision to remove $2.87 million in reimbursement funding from the Federal Aviation Administration for upgrades to the city’s general aviation airport.

Including those funds would be kind of like putting the cart before the horse, Howington said. The city may not want the FAA funding due to the strings attached, such as loss of local control.

Howington said the city is not spending money unless it’s absolutely necessary.

Per her request, the budget included a projected increase of 5 percent in city sewer rates. That could be changed if council nixes the increase when it consider the issue next month, she said.

Howington noted the city is waiting on approval from the federal Environmental Protection Agency so it can take some of its bio-solids to the county landfill. This would save money, she said. Even if the city gets approval from the EPA, Howington said the city may want to continue sending some of its bio-solids to the Glacier Gold compost facility in order to preserve that working relationship. Using the county landfill would only be a short-term solution, however. Howington said the long-term goal is to use a prototype under way with Algae AquaCulture Technologies to help Stoltze Lumber dispose of its waste.

Council also approved a mill levy of 170.34, which represents an increase of .53 mills from Fiscal Year 2010’s 169.81. The mill levy in Fiscal Year 2009 was 170.23.

Further discussion of what to do with the Westside Tax Increment Financing District funds was put off again.

Marc Rold, president of the newly recreated Urban Renewal Committee, asked that council’s decision be postponed for six months so the committee can give a recommendation. The committee plans to issue a progress report on its findings in three months, he said.

The Westside Tax Increment Financing District was founded in 1997 for urban renewal projects. There is currently $1.78 million in the Westside TIF District Fund.

Carol Nelson, vice chair of the Gateway Community Center board, noted the organization has submitted an application for use of Westside TIF funds to revive the former Gateway West Mall. The proposal would provide office space for various non-profit organizations. The plan is to strip the inside of the building and retrofit it for use of each non-profit agency, she said. The plan could add 12 more jobs to the 19 jobs currently present within the organizations.

Council member Jim Atkinson noted the Agency on Aging is one of the organizations looking into moving into the old mall.