Kalispell voters approve public safety levy

Voters in Kalispell gave the city the green light on Tuesday to levy 60.9 mills annually to help bolster its emergency services.

According to unofficial results released by the Flathead County Election Department, 3,367 voters cast ballots in favor of the public safety levy while 2,485 opposed the measure. The levy is expected to raise about $4.6 million in its first year for the city’s Police and Fire departments and add roughly $369 to the yearly tax bill of a home valued at $450,000. 

“I think that the results show loud and clear that the residents of Kalispell take their emergency response services seriously and I’m glad to see that,” said City Councilor Chad Graham, Council president, on Wednesday. 

Council began moving toward the levy request last year after reviewing the results of independent audits of the municipality’s emergency responder agencies. The reviews, undertaken by the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Public Safety Management, found both departments provided quality service, but highlighted trouble areas, including response times, which lagged behind national averages.

To address deficiencies highlighted in the audits, city staff drafted three levy request variants. After some debate, Council opted to go with the costliest option in the fall. 

The top-of-the-line request is expected to add two detectives, a crime analyst and one to two additional officers on each shift for the Police Department. On the Fire Department side, the tax revenue generated by the levy is expected to cover the cost of staffing an additional ambulance and fire engine as well as erecting and manning a new fire station on the city’s west side. 

City Manager Doug Russell said the levy would go into effect in fiscal year 2025, which begins July 1. Municipal officials are putting together a hiring and onboarding strategy in the wake of the levy’s passage, he said. 

“We’re really pleased with the turnout; we think we had a really good segment of the community vote,” he said. “That was our goal from the beginning, let the community know of the issue and provide as much education as we could and let them have the opportunity to decide. Obviously, we’re very appreciative of that vote.”

CITY STAFF last year recommended Council go with the middle-of-the-road request, which would have paid for the hiring of additional personnel for both the Fire and Police departments, partially in a nod to voters’ perceived resistance to tax increases and other economic factors, like inflation. 

Still, “This is what we need in black and white,” said Mayor Mark Johnson of the top-of-the-line levy request in October. 

Graham was one of several councilors that needed persuading. Though happy the levy met with approval, he acknowledged the burden it placed on homeowners. 

“It’s not lost on me that it’s a heavy lift for many people,” Graham said. “It’s really not.”

He said he ultimately supported the levy because he was unwilling to repeatedly return to taxpayers with half measures. 

“I don’t like when the government goes through and gives you half of what is needed and then comes back and asks for more later on,” he said. 

Fire Chief Dan Pierce did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but in an emailed statement on Wednesday Police Chief Jordan Venezio thanked residents for their support. He said that the Police Department has begun discussions on how to implement the changes funded by the levy. 

"We know that this was a hard time to ask, and the results show that our community overwhelmingly believes in Kalispell’s Police and Fire departments,” Venezio wrote. “We have a lot of work ahead of us and we proudly shoulder the responsibility of getting results from these changes. [Kalispell Police] officers are fortunate to get to work in a community that values law and order and trusts local law enforcement enough to make such an investment in us.”

News Editor Derrick Perkins can be reached at 758-4430 or dperkins@dailyinterlake.com.