Kalispell City Council to review education campaign for public safety levy request

Kalispell City Council will take a look Monday at a proposed educational campaign for a public safety levy request headed before voters in March.

Council in November voted to put the levy request on the ballot. The move came after months of discussions surrounding recent audits of the city’s Fire and Police departments, which found both agencies suffering from staffing shortfalls, among other deficiencies. 

Council meets Monday at City Hall, 201 First Ave. E., at 7 p.m. For more information on how to attend or participate, including remotely, visit: https://www.kalispell.com/agendacenter. 

Officials initially hoped to bring on an outside firm to handle the public information blitz ahead of the March 19 mail-in election, but received no responses to its request for proposals late last year. The city had budgeted $100,000 for the effort.

Voters will be asked whether to levy 60.9 mills in dedicated funding for Kalispell’s emergency services. The levy is expected to add $369 annually to the tax bill of a home valued at $450,000, according to city documents — equaling $30.83 per month — and will stay in place until city officials deem it unneeded. It is expected to raise $4.6 million in its first year.

The revenue generated by the levy is expected to fund 11 new positions at the Kalispell Police Department and 27 additional positions for city Fire and EMS services, a portion of which will staff a forthcoming third fire station. The dollars could also potentially cover a new fire engine and other additional equipment.

In a memo to Council ahead of the Jan. 8 work session, City Manager Doug Russell wrote that a committee had formed to shape the public education campaign. Information about the levy request will be disseminated to the public via video advertisements, radio spots, social media posts and public presentations, Russell wrote. 

Council is expected to review a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation as part of the work session and take a look at the first video produced as part of the campaign. 

COUNCIL ALSO is expected to go over projects eligible for potential state funding through the State-Local Partnership Infrastructure Act. 

The act, approved by the Montana Legislature in 2023, allocated $313,674 to Kalispell for maintaining or repairing existing municipal infrastructure. A local 25% match is required for undertakings funded through the legislation, according to city documents. 

In a memo, Russell wrote that areas eligible for the funding include drinking water systems, wastewater treatment, landfills, streetlights, airports and public grounds. City staff gathered together a list of potential projects in Kalispell for Council to consider ahead of the work session. 

Those undertakings include lead service line replacement, the reconstruction of two blocks of Ninth Street East, improvements to one and a half blocks of Meridian Court, sewer line repair work, and the purchase of new playground equipment and boiler for the city’s public safety building. 

Russell wrote that officials plan to hold public hearings in the future to determine prioritization.

Reporter Carl Foster can be reached at 758-4407 or cfoster@dailyinterlake.com.