Highlights from the proposed Great Falls budget

The City Commission will gets its first look at the proposed budget for the fiscal year on Tuesday.

The city's fiscal year began July 1 and is expected to see the general fund's balance return to the commission policy level of 17 percent, or about two months' worth of operating expenses.

Here's some of the highlights expected in this year's budget proposal:

Public safety

Some of the most significant items expected in the proposed budget include two firefighter positions and two dispatchers for the 911 Center, but one of those is contingent on negotiations with Cascade County since it helps fund the joint center.

Greg Doyon, city manager, said he's working to add firefighters and is planning to use non-voted government debt to replace aging fire engines this year to see how that affects capabilities and response times at Great Falls Fire/Rescue before trying to levy for a new fire station.

GFFR's fire engines were purchased about 10 years ago and the reserve trucks are 23-25 years old, Fire Chief Steve Hester.

Hester said the department is currently drafting specifications for the fire engines, and the cost is estimated to be in the $500,000 range.

Doyon said he doesn't anticipate a public safety levy in the near future.

The budget for Great Falls Police Department is remaining about the same this year, Doyon said.

Tax increases

Doyon is also recommending that the City Commission use the inflationary factor for property taxes and the permissive medical levy.

The allowable increase for property taxes is 0.67 percent, which is estimated to generate $88,387 in additional revenue. Property taxes alone in the city don't cover the cost of the public safety portion of the budget.

In last year's budget, $15.6 million in tax revenue went to the general fund. The 2015 budget for police and fire was $18.3 million.

The proposed permissive medical levy increase is 2.17 percent, or about $285,000 in additional revenue to help offset the cost of health insurance increases in the general fund.

According to city data, health insurance premiums have increased by 6.45 percent during the last two fiscal years.

The impact of those proposed increases on a residential home with a taxable market value of $100,000 would be $12.27 for the year, according to the fiscal services department.

On Tuesday, the City Commission is scheduled to vote on setting a public hearing for July 21 on the proposed tax increases and the budget.

Library

The proposed budget includes $10,000 to reinstate the Book-Mobile since the donations that kept it running last year are no longer expected, Doyon said.

The proposal also includes putting $11,000 back into the library's fund to fix the roof since that money had to be used this year to stop water from leaking in the front door, Doyon said.

The library will not receive funding to open on Sundays or Mondays, but Doyon said he's budgeting to reinstate on-call staff positions that were cut last year.

Park and Recreation

The proposed budget includes a new position in the Park and Recreation Department that would oversee the River's Edge Trail starting Jan. 1, after Doug Wicks retires from Recreational Trails Inc. The city is making moves to assume more responsibility and financial investment in the River's Edge Trail system.

Half of the funding for that position would come from Park and Rec, the other half from Planning and Community Development through Unified Planning Work Program, which is federal transportation dollars, said Craig Raymond, city planning director.

The proposal includes $90,000 to fund a park master plan, but those monies are coming from the Park and Rec Trust Fund, said Joe Petrella, Park and Rec director.

The master plan would take a comprehensive look at city parks and recreational facilities to better prioritize and plan for maintenance, improvements and upgrades.

The last park master plan was done in the 1990s.

Doyon has also included $100,000 to pay golf course debt, which goes off the books in September and Petrella said the department will start paying back the general fund. The golf courses owe the general fund about $1 million.

A $167,000 debt payment for the Electric City Water Park is also included from the general fund, for a total of $381,389 for the aquatics program in the proposed budget.