Kalispell council reviews 'capital-heavy' budget

After four hours of work sessions spread across two days, this week the city of Kalispell’s $104 million annual budget cleared the first hurdle to getting approved for the upcoming fiscal year.

On Monday and Tuesday evenings, the Kalispell City Council and city staff did a thorough review of the preliminary budget for fiscal year 2021-22. The initial amount came in at $103,960,616, up from the $82.5 million budget in place for the prior fiscal year.

The budget likely won’t be formally adopted until August, when the city receives property tax valuations from the state.

The larger budget is generally characterized by growth in the city, which can be seen in personnel increases and capital expenditures.

“We have a very significant capital-heavy budget at this point in time right now, and it’s not a surprise,” Mayor Mark Johnson said.

The multitude of capital projects in the proposed budget include infrastructure upgrades in the City Council chambers at City Hall and at the Woodland Park pool; a website to help applicants navigate the building permit process; and possible installation of a trail to connect North Kalispell to the downtown area via Buffalo Hill.

The most significant capital improvement in the preliminary budget is completion of the Kalispell Parkline Trail. After 10 years, the project is slated for completion during the upcoming fiscal year.

Earlier this month, the council awarded a bid of nearly $6 million to contractor Sandry Construction to install the trail. The total budget for the project went from an estimated $4.7 million up to approximately $8.1 million.

AS FOR personnel, the budget currently provides for six new full-time positions in the city, while two long-tenured city employees are on track to retire in the upcoming fiscal year.

Public Works is looking to add an additional construction inspector. The Fire Department would like to bring on two additional firefighters/paramedics through the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response grant program run by the International Association of Fire Fighters. The Police Department is proposing the addition of two law enforcement positions with help from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Community Oriented Policing Services grant. And the Parks and Recreation Department wants to add one full-time employee and some seasonal staff to maintain the Parkline Trail.

The Planning and Building Department also anticipates needing additional staff for building inspections to meet the demand for new construction.

Many of the operating costs for individual city departments are expected to remain consistent from last year to this year, and, notably, the city’s mill levy to fund the 911 Special District, which fell under county jurisdiction this year, will drop down to 12 mills. City officials expect the decreased mill levy will lower property taxes in the city.

As is customary for work sessions, the council made no official decisions The budget will come back before council for a vote of approval later this summer.

Reporter Bret Anne Serbin may be reached at 758-4459 or bserbin@dailyinterlake.com