Kalispell council to vote on $80M 2020 budget

by Bret Anne Serbin Daily Inter Lake
| August 19, 2019 2:00 AM

The Kalispell City Council will vote tonight on an $80 million budget for fiscal year 2020. The final budget comes in almost $2 million higher than the preliminary budget proposed in July.

The council held a public hearing on the preliminary budget on July 1. At that time, the city proposed a $78 million budget, but City Manager Doug Russell made clear they wouldn’t be able to predict the final numbers until they received the state’s final property valuations in August.

A number of changes resulted in the increase from the preliminary budget to the final budget, according to the council report.

The biggest changes were an increase of nearly $400,00 in the Four Mile Drive water capital project and a $122,113 increase in Special Improvement District 344. The Special Improvement District funds will be used to make payments on city-owned lots.

The agenda also listed smaller increases of $40,000 transferred out of the Permissive Health Fund and $28,455 to the Westside Tax Increment Finance District redevelopment expenditure. There were additional unspecified “increases to debt service in water, sewer and storm sewer” funds.

Part of these increases were offset by a $100,000 decrease transfer to ambulance funds, which resulted from an “increase from estimated revenues” and a “decrease in expenditures” related to this funding.

Despite the higher revised amount for the final budget, the $80 million figure would still be $10 million lower than the previous budget for fiscal year 2019.

Russell previously explained the city completed a number of capital projects over the past year. The majority of expenditures on projects like the CORE Area redevelopment project have been completed, according to Russell.

The council will be discussing a number of resolutions related to the final budget at the meeting this evening. Full details of these resolutions and the proposed final budget are available here: https://www.kalispell.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_08192019-301

In other business, the council will also consider a resolution to confirm Wesley Barr as a firefighter for the city of Kalispell.

The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. in the City Council chambers, 201 First Ave. East.

Reporter Bret Anne Serbin may be reached at bserbin@dailyinterlake.com or 758-4459.