Countywide 911 levy gets support from council, but not mayor

The Columbia Falls City Council late last month voted to support a new county 911 levy proposal that could appear on the November ballot.

The vote was not unanimous, however. Mayor Don Barnhart, in a rare move, voted against the measure.

As it stands right now, the cities pay the county for 911 service based on a 2009 interlocal agreement.

But city taxpayers also pay the county directly for 911 as well.

In short, city property taxpayers pay twice for 911 services.

The city pays a about $126,000 annually to the county for 911 services.

Now the county is proposing a countywide levy that would raise about $3.503 million in the first year to “provide emergency dispatch and supporting communication services, equipment, and infrastructure for Flathead County and its municipalities.”

The new levy would cost a home assessed at $200,000 about $35 on their property tax bill. Homes with a higher assessment would pay more, of course.

Barnhart objected to the resolution supporting the new countywide levy because it didn’t implicitly end the city levy. Cities, he argued, weren’t obligated to give property owners a tax break under this resolution.

While that is true, the intent of the resolution is to do away with the city direct payment to 911, the rest of council concurred. The vote to support the resolution was 6-1.