Daily Inter Lake | Kalispell City Council to Determine Sending Public Safety Levy to Voters

Revenue from the levy would fund 11 new Police Department positions, a third fire station and 27 positions in the Fire Department. It also would cover the cost of new equipment

Daily Inter Lake | Kalispell City Council to Determine Sending Public Safety Levy to Voters
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Read the article at the Daily Inter Lake by Carl Foster
Excerpt:
“The proposed levy comes on the heels of audits of the city police and fire departments that found staffing and equipment shortfalls, among other concerns. Council weighed three options for a levy during an October work session, signaling its preference for a proposal that would raise an estimated $4.6 million in its first year.
City Manager Doug Russell will present Council on Nov. 20 with a resolution for a mail-in election asking voters to authorize the municipality to raise 60.9 extra mills. If the resolution is approved, the election would occur on March 19.
Revenue from the levy would fund 11 new Police Department positions, a third fire station and 27 positions in the Fire Department. It also would cover the cost of new equipment.
Council will meet at City Hall, 201 First Ave. E., at 7 p.m. For more information on how to attend or participate, including remotely, visit: www.kalispell.com/agendacenter.
The expected impact on a home valued at $100,000 would be about $82.22 per year, according to Russell’s memo to Council. That works out to $6.85 per month, city documents said.
For a home valued at $200,000, the change would be about $164.43 a year, coming in at roughly $13.70 a month. For a $450,000 home, the levy would add $369.97 to the annual property tax bill. That works out to $30.83 a month, according to city documents.
Russell outlined the three options before Council in an October memo, noting that the 60.9 mill proposal would help the city meet the recommendations made by the Center for Public Safety Management, the Washington, D.C.-based organization that conducted the audit, earlier this year. But he warned that going with the costliest option came with risks.”

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