Kalispell sets hearing for proposed water rate hike

Kalispell City Council on Monday took the next step toward raising water rates by setting the date for a public hearing on the issue.

Council will take public comment on the proposed increase in the fees, schedules and rates for city water at its July 17 meeting. The resolution of intent and public hearing are part of a required process to raise the rates, City Manager Doug Russell explained.

During Monday’s discussion, Councilor Ryan Hunter proposed an amendment that would restore water impact fees to pre-2020 levels, when the council voted to reduce them in an effort to incentivize housing development.

“I don’t think it's particularly fair to go to the ratepayers and ask them to consider a rate increase on water rates when three years ago we decreased the development impact fees in half,” Hunter said.

Mayor Mark Johnson said that it was “not the appropriate time” to consider such an amendment, saying that returning fees to prior levels would require a new impact fee study.

Hunter retorted that the previous study had called for raising the fees, and claimed that council had “completely ignored” the study’s recommendations. He also questioned whether performing a new study — which occurs every five years, according to Russell — was legally required to bring fees back in line with previous levels.

Johnson dismissed Hunter’s proposal, positing that a study of current conditions would not lead to a recommendation for an increase.

“A study today would actually probably show a reduction. So we’d probably be at about the same place as where we were,” Johnson contended.

He continued that he thought raising the impact fees would have an insignificant effect on the calculations used to set the proposed water rates, and said that the money couldn’t be used for water system maintenance, one of the rising costs cited by the Department of Public Works’ request to increase usage rates.

“Rates are going up because costs have gone up significantly,” Johnson said in an attempt to head off criticism of the proposal due to media coverage of meetings that he said was “not fully representative of the [council’s] conversation.”

“Some of these great sound bites we get come back to bite us,” he said, snapping his fingers.

Council meetings are open to the public and broadcast online and via Zoom, with recordings available on the city’s website.

Russell said that discussions about impact fees should come during the July 17 hearing on the proposed rate hikes.

At Monday’s meeting, council also approved a resolution authorizing $19.8 million in bonds to finance a long-planned drinking water capital improvement project.

Councilor Sam Nunnally expressed frustration that capital improvement projects have risen in price over the past few years, although he supported the resolution.

Finally, the council authorized the city to spend funds to continue operations in line with next fiscal year’s proposed budget until it is finalized later this summer.

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