City budget does not call for tax increase

Property owners in Columbia Falls won’t see a tax increase next year, city manager Susan Nicosia told the Columbia Falls City Council at their Aug. 5 meeting.

She said she received the certified mill value from the Department of Revenue just that morning and it came in slightly higher.

That means the tax levy for the $6.3 million fiscal year 2014 budget will come to 191.875 mills — about 1.6 mills less than last year, and nearly 2 mills less than two years ago.

Nicosia presented a first look at the preliminary budget during a public hearing that will continue to the next city council meeting.

About $980,401 of the total budget will come from property taxes. The rest will come from fees, sewer and water bills, entitlements, grants and loans, and other revenue sources. The city will not raise any fees or assessments, Nicosia said.

Some budget highlights include:

$15,000 for planning services to create a tax-increment financing (TIF) district in Columbia Falls. This was a city council goal.

$4,220 for software to maintain the city’s business licensing program.

$20,000 for a new police department computer server, a city clerk computer server, four desktop computers, and to consolidate the servers into a new computer room.

$25,000 over four years for a new computer-driven phone system in City Hall.

$2,500 to upgrade the City Hall heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems.

$18,500 to repair or replace windows in City Hall, maintain the boiler contract, replace carpeting in the city manager’s office and in the fire hall, clean carpets and chairs in City Hall, and add a partition wall for a new computer room.

$15,000 for a fire alarm system in City Hall. In the past, the city relied on the presence of police officers 24 hours a day.

$40,000 for legal services for two on-going civil cases. One, Kent vs. City of Columbia Falls, involves a skateboarding accident in the Cedar Pointe subdivision and is not covered by insurance.

$4,500 to the Police Department for clothing and uniforms.

$108,470 to Flathead County for 911 dispatch service.

$6,500 to the Fire Department for testing fire pumps, fire hoses and self-contained breathing apparatus, maintenance on the SCBA compressor, and fire extinguisher service.

$2,600 for an upgraded electronically activated Sparky The Fire Dog costume.

$7,000 for a digital traffic speed trailer.

$18,000 for flashing beacons for three more intersections for the Safe Routes To Schools program.

$5,000 to the Parks and Recreation Department for picnic tables, benches, garbage cans, signs, grass seed, top soil and bedding plants.

$9,000 to irrigate city parks, including the new Pocket Park on Nucleus Avenue. Irrigation may be added for the Welcome Park next to Super 1 Foods and two other city parks.

$13,000 for the county recreational program fee, portable toilet rentals, park tree management and sod for the new Pocket Park.

$15,000 for transportation planning that will help the city compete for federal bike-path money.

$28,000 to fill cracks and seal city bike paths, delayed from last year.

$65,801 in federal funds to finish constructing the Third Avenue East bike path to River’s Edge Park.

$20,000 as part of the cost for a new bike path linking the Habitat For Humanity townhomes on Truck Route to Glacier Gateway School.

$10,000 to clean up the new Welcome Park site and move the welcome sign.

$7,500 to repaint the Shay Locomotive without removing lead paint.

$10,000 for new tarps to cover the city pool.

$14,000 as city’s share of cost of fire suppression system at Moose Crossing subdivision.

$25,000 for the city’s sidewalk replacement program. So far only two property owners have expressed interest in the 50/50 cost-share program.

$200,000 over two years to upgrade water mains at seven locations under a combined engineering contract.

$10,000 annual cost to dump sludge from the city sewage treatment plant at the county landfill.

$108,000 to extend sewer mains on Vans Avenue, Frontage Road and Third Avenue West.