FY2021 Budget

This request includes staffing for the main City Hall entrance to monitor and direct the public, additional cleaning during the COVID-19 pandemic, an emergency notification system to reach City employees, safety training and tracking software, and the development of security plans for City buildings.  You can see more details on the new request form.  

The Parks and Recreation department is requesting two electric trucks for $36,250 each.  Parks works in tight spaces where smaller vehicles are easier to maneuver.  Electric vehicles, with their lower fuel consumption and reduced greenhouse gas emissions, help us meet our energy conservation and climate action goals.  Parks currently has about 109 full-time equivalent employees and 55 trucks.

The Mayor’s Office survey request is for a scientific survey conducted with randomly selected residents.  Surveys on Engage Missoula and other public feedback tools are useful, but a scientific survey of randomly selected Missoulians gives us a snapshot of the community as a whole.  Our 2018 survey contained useful feedback from our residents and it will be helpful to see how opinions have changed over time.  Survey results are one way for us to measure progress toward our goals and set priorities.   

The other component of this request is communication services.  We often have to communicate complex issues in a public-friendly format.  Some projects can benefit from professional designers or communications firms who can help us increase public engagement.

During the pandemic, many people are hearing the acronym PPE (personal protective equipment) for the first time.  PPE is a broad term that includes any protective equipment workers need while on the job.  For health care workers, PPE means gloves, gowns, surgical masks, and similar equipment to prevent the spread of disease.  PPE also means hard hats for people working in a construction zone, reflective safety vests for street maintenance staff working near traffic, and helmets for police officers dispatched to incidents involving the use or threatened use of a firearm.

Mayor Engen will not increase City property taxes for fiscal year 2021.  Every year, we work to make sure Missoula’s budget reflects the priorities and expectations of our residents as outlined in our strategic plan.  We balance those expectations with available revenue.  You can read more about our funding priorities in Mayor Engen’s budget letter.

We received our revenue numbers from the State of Montana Department of Revenue on August 3.  City administration will present that information to the Budget Committee of the Whole on August 26.  Agendas and participation instructions for that meeting will be available one to two days before the meeting on our main website.  We anticipate that the increased revenue will be sufficient to cover our required budget needs.

This request includes training on implicit bias, de-escalation, use of force, and defensive tactics training for all officers.  It also includes training specifically for patrol officers and detectives.  We also intend to upgrade our Force Option Simulator, which we use for training on de-escalation, crisis intervention, and use of force.  Finally, we need to ensure that our staffing levels are sufficient to meet community needs while officers are in training.  To that end, we include overtime in the request, as well.   You can find additional details in the Police Department presentation or you can watch the committee meeting for the full discussion.

Mayor Engen discusses his support of this increased training in his introductory letter.  “We know this: a better-educated police officer is a more effective police officer. Chief White brings considerable experience to bear in leading the Missoula Police Department and in his review of our department, he immediately recognized that our training, across the board, was inadequate. You’ll see that addressed in this budget, with continuing education and advanced training for all officers. You’ll also note an emphasis on bias and de-escalation, two of the critical concerns of the community.

In addition, you’ll note that we’re expanding our training in crisis intervention, because until there’s a federal or state solution to helping folks in crisis, even with our mobile-crisis team, Missoula police officers will continue to serve in that vital role, meeting people in crisis where they are, stabilizing the situation and connecting those in crisis with appropriate services. As we continue to invest in alternative responses, there may come a day when an officer isn’t the first responder to a behavioral-health crisis, but that’s not going to happen overnight, so I want officers who are well-trained to help people in crisis 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.”