Council debates preliminary budget, mill levy hike

The Columbia Falls city council had a rare split on a budget vote Monday night.

At issue was whether to leave just under 3 additional mills “on the table.” The mills were the difference between keeping the millage at last year’s levels, or increasing them to the maximum allowed by state law.

From a practical standpoint, the three mills wasn’t a lot of money — about $22,000 noted city manager Susan Nicosia.

Mayor Don Barnhart and councilman John Piper wanted to keep the mills levied at what they were last year. Barnhart noted it was a matter of optics.

“I think it’s important we show we’re trying to treat people properly in this messed up time,” Barnhart said in reference to the coronavirus pandemic.

At the last meeting, Kay Ellis, an elderly resident, asked the city to hold the line on tax increases, as it was becoming increasingly difficult for her to live in the city anymore, as she was on a fixed income.

But councilors noted that if the city didn’t levy the mills, it could very well lose them entirely, and the city already had a tight budget.

The city is already looking at a tax hike, no matter what happens with the general fund budget, through the permissive medical levy, which helps defray costs for employee health insurance.

That hike amounts to about $20 for a house assessed at $200,000.

The city’s general fund budget is about $3.444 million — 40 percent of which goes to pay for the police department.

The city received about $193,000 in Cares Act funding, which has helped defray police costs during the coronavirus pandemic.

In the end, Piper made a motion to keep the general fund levy at last year’s rate — just over 179 mills. Barnhart voted for it, but the rest of council voted against it, with councilman Doug Karper absent.

The vote is not the final word on the budget, however. The vote was largely procedural and the council will likely have a final vote on the budget at its next meeting.

In the meantime, Nicosia said she would present more options to the council. There is, she noted, a problem with the city’s evaluation. The state appears to have left out the value of Flathead Electric Co-op, which could impact the city’s valuation, and ultimately, the levy.

But the city hadn’t received a reply back from the state before the meeting on the apparent error.