911 dispatch ballot measure fails on recount

The number of ballots in favor of creating a countywide special district to fund the Flathead County 911 dispatch system increased by six during a recount on Nov. 21, but the number of ballots opposed to the measure increased by five.

The net result is that the ballot measure failed by 10 votes. The ballot measure was 11 votes shy of passing after provisional ballots were counted on Nov. 10.

Six precincts gained a total of 11 yes votes, and one precinct lost five yes votes. Four precincts gained a total of seven no votes, and one precinct lost two no votes.

Voters in the four Columbia Falls precincts voted against the measure by 1,607 to 1,315. Voters in the four Canyon and Badrock precincts also voted against the measure, by 968 to 764.

A crew of 28 people — mostly county employees — conducted the manual recount, tallying 15,207 votes in favor and 15,217 votes against. The recount took 3 1/2 hours.

County and city officials in the Flathead proposed the special district as a way to come up with needed funding for more upgrades to the new countywide 911 dispatch system and to provide a fairer funding source.

Local funding for the dispatch system has come from a $1 fee on monthly phone bills, a 6 mill levy on county properties and payments by the cities of Columbia Falls, Kalispell and Whitefish. City officials have argued that the system isn’t fair because city property owners pay twice.

According to the ballot proposal, the 911 system would continue to collect the phone fee and the 6 mill levy. On top of that would be a $25 per year fee on all residential properties and a fixed fee for commercial properties that could range from $50 to $1,500 per year, depending on the size and type of business.

Columbia Falls city manager Susan Nicosia on several occasions said the ballot measure would be a tough sell. Officials from the county and the three cities signed a joint letter for local newspapers describing the benefits of the proposed funding system.