County poised to approve $117M budget

The Flathead County commissioners are poised to approve the final version of the county's operating budget for the 2021-22 fiscal year on Thursday.

The budget, which includes projected expenditures totaling $117.6 million, is slightly smaller than the budget for the last fiscal year, primarily because the county no longer runs a health clinic. The commissioners approved a preliminary budget in late June; the final version was drafted after the county received property valuations from the state Department of Revenue.

The budget includes a 2% cost-of-living adjustment for county employees (the equivalent of 539.47 full-time workers). It would raise property tax collections nearly $326,000 over last year, for a total of nearly $44 million, though that actually represents a slight decrease in the tax rate relative to spiking property tax values.

A memo from County Administrator Pete Melnick notes the budget also provides for the continued remodeling of the former CenturyLink building at 290 N. Main St., which will house a number of county offices.

"Long-term investments in this building continue," Melnick wrote. "Our decision to create a backup 911 center and locate this important public safety asset to this building is a shrewd decision. Accepting grant funding totaling approximately $330 thousand for equipment will greatly increase the value of this capability to the taxpayer and to our first responders. In other words, a lot of upside but very little downside cost."

Melnick also noted, however, that economic factors are "disrupting our initial budget forecasts" for the building renovation.

Separately, Melnick noted that the commissioners in late June voted 2-1 to accept about $20.2 million in federal pandemic assistance from the American Rescue Plan Act. (The commissioners unanimously approved a separate $4.4 million portion of federal aid earmarked for water and sewer projects.)

"This funding is not in our proposed budget, as the decision on how best to put this capital to work is still under discussion," Melnick wrote. "Regardless of how that sizable capital is utilized, this funding does give the county flexibility to make many small investments or a large investment in our public infrastructure (if appropriate and if needed) in the years to come."

The commissioners — Republicans Brad Abell, Pam Holmquist and Randy Brodehl — meet in the county courthouse at 800 S. Main St. in Kalispell. They are scheduled to vote on the budget during a public hearing beginning at 9 a.m. Thursday.

Assistant editor Chad Sokol may be reached at 406-758-4439 or csokol@dailyinterlake.com.