Kalispell City Council finalizes $141M budget

Kalispell City Council approved the municipality’s $141 million budget and mill levy for fiscal year 2024 on Monday.

Councilors nixed appropriations that would have seen $200,000 dedicated to proposed facilities renovations and $33,000 to City Council salary bumps. The city’s general fund, from which most municipal operations are funded, was set at about $15.5 million.

The decision brought the estimated mills levied on property in the city down slightly to about 136.5, according to City Manager Doug Russell.

Taxes on a property assessed at $100,000 in 2023 and 2024 may go down by about $38 from last year, using a formula found in city budget documents and inserting the updated levy amount. Property assessed at $300,000 may decrease by about $128 and property assessed at $600,000 may decrease by about $235.

Actual tax impact on an individual property will vary based on the addition of newly taxable property in the city, changes in valuation year-to-year, and the timing of when actual tax bills are sent to property owners.

Russell said that he expected his personal property taxes to go up about 9% with the changes.

Councilors voted against increasing Council and mayoral compensation as part of the budget, with a few saying they didn’t like the optics of giving themselves a raise after recently voting to increase water fees.

Russell had proposed the wage increase, pointing out that City Council pay has not increased in about 20 years and the effect on the general fund would have been small. The proposal would have seen around $33,000 set aside for the nine-person council.

“Now is not the time for us to be seeking raises,” said Councilor Sam Nunnally.

Council also declined to allocate $200,000 for renovations to the Depot Park and Parks and Recreation Department buildings.

Staff had recommended a shuffle that would see Parks Department staff relocate to the recently vacated Depot Park building, allowing the Kalispell Police Department to move its evidence handling operation into the freed up Parks Department building.

Councilors spoke in favor of the proposal, saying they didn’t want to see the Depot Park building abandoned, but declined to authorize the funds for renovations required for the move.

Councilor Chad Graham said he wanted to see the city leverage tax increment financing funds for the project.

ImagineIF Libraries Trustee Carmen Cuthbertson appealed to the Council to support a “combined project” that would see the Parks Department share Depot Park with a proposed Kalispell branch of the county library system.

She said that the city and county combining forces on what she described as an expensive project could save taxpayer dollars.

“Please let the library work with you,” Cuthbertson urged the Council.

Councilor Sid Daoud was the only member to vote against the budget. He said his objection stemmed from the fact that Kalispell would be benefitting from the collection of tax revenue generated by the sale of recreational cannabis, although the city currently has no dispensaries operating within its limits. Kalispell’s zoning ordinances limit dispensaries to industrial zones.

Kalispell stands to receive several hundred thousand dollars generated by cannabis sales, more than in either Whitefish or Columbia Falls, which have generally allowed dispensaries in commercial zones.

Mayor Mark Johnson said that the city was deserving of funds because of the impact of legalized cannabis, arguing that the substance increased the burden on local law enforcement.

Johnson has long spoken out against legal weed as a gateway drug and strain on the area’s moral fiber. He championed the 2021 amendment restricting cannabis sales.

Johnson said that cannabis legalization has directly led to behaviors that he linked to an increase in police calls. He did not provide any examples of cannabis-related crime or figures suggesting an uptick in police involvement since legalization.

“You and I can disagree on it,” he said to Daoud. “Guess what, I’m pretty sure there’s a pretty steep cost.”

Reporter Adrian Knowler can be reached at 758-4407 or aknowler@dailyinterlake.com.