City sets salaries for department heads

By CHRIS PETERSON

Hungry Horse News

As the city of Columbia Falls works on its 2022-23 budget, council recently approved the salaries for various department heads.

The chief of police annual salary will be $112,975, the public works director $60,041, the fire chief $81,033, finance director $71,984, city clerk, $34.34 per hour, city judge $63,410 (part-time, .8 full-time equivalent) and police lieutenant $100,979.

The city also recently OK’d the starting hourly wage for new firefighters at $24 an hour.

A non-union entry level job with the city pays $19.62 an hour. The highest pay grade for a non-union employee with 30 steps and the highest grade is $47.53 an hour, or $98,862 a year.

Council a couple of years ago boosted the top police pay to make it more competitive with other cities and the county in the Flathead.

The city hopes to be able to hire three new full-time firefighters to its force, but it’s waiting to see if a federal grant becomes available.

The grant could help pay for their salaries.

With retirement and health benefits, a firefighter with family health insurance costs the city about $96,000 annually, city manager Susan Nicosia told council at last week’s meeting.

The city budget overall has yet to be finalized, but the police department will see a 13% increase from $1.4 million last year to $1.6 million this year.

Spending increases, however, will likely be offset by the new resort tax, a portion of which goes to city police. The resort tax will also help pay for the new full-time firefighters.

Resort tax revenue is projected to be just under $800,000 for the next fiscal year.

The city’s final budget should be completed later this month.