Assessment for 911 center will be on November tax bills
Stefanie Pierson listens to a call at the Flathead 911 Emergency Communications Center in this file photo. (Aaric Bryan/Daily Inter Lake file)
Flathead County property owners will begin seeing a new assessment supporting the consolidated 911 dispatch center on tax bills that go out in November.
The county commissioners on Tuesday formalized the last step in establishing the special district assessment for the Flathead Emergency Communications Center, voting unanimously to approve a resolution that established the district, the method of assessment and the levy of assessments. There was no public comment during a hearing that preceded the vote.
Based on the cost of operations, supporting communication services, equipment and infrastructure, assessments will total about $3.53 million for the 2021 tax year. The owners of a home valued at $100,000 will pay $15.96 annually, while the additional property taxes for a home valued at $200,000 will be $31.91. Taxes for a home valued at $300,000 would be roughly $48.
Flathead County voters approved a ballot measure in the November 2020 general election that taxes property owners to pay the cost of emergency dispatch and supporting communication services, equipment and infrastructure for the county and its municipalities. The taxes will be payable semi-annually in two equal payments.
City councils in all three incorporated cities in Flathead County — Kalispell, Columbia Falls and Whitefish — had passed resolutions in support of the levy.
The measure also brings the center under county control, as opposed to a six-person administrative board under which it had operated since its inception in 2009.
Under the former budgeting system, the bulk of the center’s $3.6 million annual budget came from fees paid by each of the three incorporated cities based on their population, bringing in $2.59 million, with additional funding coming from a tax on telephone services and other sources. A lingering issue for the cities has been the assertion that city taxpayers essentially were paying twice for the 911 center, once in city taxes and again at the county level.
Another ongoing issue has been the lack of a funding mechanism to raise money for equipment upgrades.
Voters rejected two past levy proposals, with one request failing by just a few votes.
News editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 406-758-4421 or lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.