Missoula County Commissioners Seek Public Comment On Proposed Budget

Press release from the Missoula County Government:

August 11, 2021

Following their preliminary budget hearing on Aug. 11, the Missoula County commissioners are encouraging members of the public to review and provide feedback on the proposed budget for fiscal year 2022.

The public is encouraged to review budget documents, which are posted online at http://missoula.co/budgets. In addition to commenting during public meetings, residents can comment by leaving the commissioners a voicemail at 406-258-4877, emailing, bcc@missoulacounty.us or mailing comments to the Commissioners’ Office, 200 W. Broadway St. Missoula, MT 59802.

Missoula County’s preliminary budget for FY22 includes $174 million in overall expenditures and $171 million in overall revenue. Revenue includes property tax dollars, which are based on certified taxable values the Montana Department of Revenue released earlier this month, as well as other sources such as grant funding, fees and entitlement share. While not considered a revenue source, the County funds one-time expenses with cash savings from previous years, which makes up for the difference in revenue versus expenditures.

The preliminary budget includes an $8.5 million increase to the base budget needed to sustain current services and operations. Increases to wages and other personnel costs for the County’s 855 FTEs across 30 departments that provide essential government services accounts for much of the base budget increase. Additionally, the Partnership Health Center budget includes a $5.4 million increase, all of which is paid for with service fees and federal funding, not local property taxes.

About 85% of Missoula County’s employees are covered by collective bargaining agreements, and the County negotiates those agreements in good faith each year and also budgets for increases to non-union employees. The County also saw a 3% increase in employee healthcare expenses over the last year and must budget for that increase going forward.

Other factors contributing to the base budget increase include Missoula County reaching its goal of paying a minimum starting wage of $15 an hour to all permanent employees, as well as an increase in the wage rate for deputy sheriffs and Detention Facility officers, which aims to increase retention and reduce overtime paid due to staff shortages.

Funding additional security measures and staff the state now requires for District Court also contributed to mid-year increases in expenditures. Local governments, like the private sector and members of the public, are also subject to the 5.4% rate of inflation that affects the cost of goods and services.

In addition to the base budget, the commissioners are considering new requests that would enhance services and operations, such as funding new programs or adding new staff, equipment or technology. To minimize the impact on taxpayers, departments must fund all one-time requests with cash savings from the prior fiscal year. All new, ongoing requests require an on-going source of revenue, such as new property tax dollars, grants or fees.

The commissioners this year received dozens of requests from departments across the County, and they have already declined to fund $2.6 million in new spending. The remaining requests commissioners are considering include $1.8 million in one-time requests paid for with cash savings; $545,839 in requests that would require new property tax dollars; and $3.7 million in requests funded with grants, fees and other sources of revenue. A detailed list of these requests is online at missoula.co/budgets.

If the commissioners adopt the proposed budget without approving any of the requests for new funding, it would mean an approximate annual decrease of $2.22 on a $350,000 home. If they adopt all the requests for new funding that require new property tax dollars, it would mean an approximate annual increase of $5.34 on a $350,000 home.

It’s important to note that the state Department of Revenue issued reappraised property values this year, and taxable values in Missoula County increased by an average of about 15%. This growth will help the County cover the increasing costs of services and requests for new funding by only levying 1.13 additional mills, but individual property owners will likely see a larger increase on their next tax bill based on the increased value of their property.

Commissioners will hold a public hearing on the final budget at 2 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 26. They will consider any additional public comment before voting to adopt the final budget at their Sept. 9 administrative public meeting.

Media can contact Chief Financial Officer Andrew Czorny at 406-258-4919 or aczorny@missoulacounty.us with additional questions about the preliminary budget.

This press release was produced by the Missoula County Government. The views expressed here are the author’s own.