Early start to budget talks at work session

Budget talks begin Monday at a Kalispell City Council work session.

The city will look at planning documents for several municipal departments during the Monday work session. Council won’t take any formal action on the plans Monday, but the work session will serve as the first step in the formal planning process.

“The discussion at the work session will provide guidance to staff as we continue the preparations of the preliminary budget,” states the work session agenda.

The city will start its review of the budget for the upcoming fiscal year in May, but it won’t adopt the final budget until property valuations come in from the state. Those numbers typically arrive mid-August.

“When available, we have historically taken opportunities during this time period to bring forth budget related items that facilitate decisions in the preparation of the preliminary budget and also aid in expediting the budget workshops in May,” explains the agenda for the Monday work session.

Specifically, on Monday, the city will look at updating its Parks Master Plan and review operational studies for Police and Fire/Emergency Medical Services.

“These planning efforts are recommended to take place during the next fiscal year to aid in guiding these departments, capital improvements and personnel decisions into the future as we face future needs and anticipated usage and call volumes,” states the agenda.

In his memorandum on the agenda item to the mayor and council, City Manager Doug Russell likened the planning documents to facility plans the city has historically adopted related to infrastructure projects.

“A good example of this are the facility plans we have previously adopted that guide the infrastructure improvements for our respective infrastructure,” wrote Russell. “These previously discussed and adopted planning documents aid in the decision-making process during the budget as we are able to incorporate capital improvements to align with the plan and our respective growth.”

The meeting starts at 7 p.m. in the City Council Chambers, 201 First Avenue East.