911 funding measure could skip a vote

A second attempt to get a special district established to fund Flathead County’s 911 emergency dispatch system may or may not go to the voters.

The 911 dispatch funding proposal failed in last fall’s election by 11 votes. Annual fees that would be established by the special district include $25 for each residential property and $50 per commercial unit, capped at 30 units or $1,500 per commercial property.

According to Columbia Falls city manager Susan Nicosia, the 911 Future Funding Subcommittee met on Feb. 13 and voted to recommend that the Flathead County Commissioners give notice of intent to establish by resolution a countywide special purpose district to fund emergency dispatch.

Chuck Stearns, the Whitefish city manager and chairman of the funding subcommittee, said the subcommittee recognized that a protest by county taxpayers could force the matter to a vote.

“However, given the costs of a special election, we feel it would be expeditious, effective and efficient to initiate a process to form the special district by resolution, subject to protest procedures,” he said in his Feb. 23 letter to the county commissioners.

If the county receives protest letters from 10 percent of affected property owners, the measure would be forced to go to the voters, Nicosia said.

The projected assessment totals $1.8 million, so voters who own a total of $180,000 of assessed property value could protest the measure and force it to a vote.

Stearns told the commissioners that if an election is forced, then the measure should be placed on the June 2016 primary to avoid the cost of holding a special election.

“This approach is the most timely, economical and it reinforces the urgent need to address long-term funding for the 911 Center,” Stearns told the commissioners.