MISSOULA — On Wednesday, Missoula Mayor Andrea Davis presented her budget to the Missoula City Council with no notable changes, but a 3.8 percent property tax increase.
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“We have to make sure that we are stable, we have to make sure that we're predictable and that we are continuing to deliver services without pulling the rug out from our constituents and rattling the cages of our hard-working civil servants,” said Missoula Mayor Andrea Davis.
Much of the 3.8 percent property tax increase, which is right around the rate of inflation, will go towards city staff wages, with police and fire taking the majority. For a home assessed at $500,000, the tax increase translates to roughly $72 more per year.
But beyond keeping up with staff wages, the mayor also outlined several other areas her budget focuses on - housing, administration, public safety and infrastructure investments.
The mayor points to the Midtown Commons and the Affordable Housing Trust Fund as examples of the budget’s priority on housing, alongside the implementation of the new Unified Development Code, Missoula’s new zoning code.
For the administrative focus, the budget points to the remediation at the John Engen Local Government Building and a new fiscal management system.
The public safety focus comes in the shape of the continued development of a new fire station.
Infrastructure will largely be centered around the essentials: water and stormwater lines, sidewalks, and of course, a new park alongside a new greenspace.
Overall, a central theme of the budget was keeping operations stable and sustainable at their current levels.
Something that Mayor Davis says is key to keeping Missoula, Missoula in turbulent times.
“We can be stable for our community, especially at a time like this, when there is so much instability up and down levels of government; that is something that our constituents look to us for,” said Mayor Davis.
To balance the budget this year, a one-time remittance of $2.5 million from the Missoula Redevelopment Agency will be given to the city.
To simplify, a remittance is essentially a transfer of funds between different government entities.
A final public hearing for approval of the budget will take place on August 17th.
