Mayor John Engen presented his budget recommendations for fiscal year 2022 (FY22) on July 7. Through the end of August, the City Council will review specific budget items and make changes, then adopt a final budget. You can view the mayor's budget recommendations, follow changes requested by the City Council, and comment on budget proposals here.

Budget Goals

The City’s strategic plan outlines guiding principles and specific goals. These principles inform our budget decisions. Mayor Engen's funded goals for FY22 include the following:

• Operational excellence
  • Address systemic racism and inequality that may be embedded within City policies, procedures and systems
  • Implement new technology to improve collaboration, communication and project management
  • Plan for City government’s capacity and infrastructure needs through a facilities master plan, including the acquisition of the Federal Building
• Access to quality housing
  • Purchase land and partner with the private sector on innovative development, such as Scott Street and West Broadway
  • Incentivize creation of affordable homes
  • Provide funding for the Affordable Housing Trust Fund
  • Innovate and align the City’s regulatory codes to better support our housing goals
• Invest in community safety and wellness
  • Support policing practices that prioritize professionalism, accountability and efficiency
  • Invest in a homeless navigation center and the expansion of our Mobile Crisis Team
  • Support working families and provide a place for connection, including the expansion of our child-care programs and community centers
• Invest in our built and natural environment
  • Successfully implement grant funding in Mullan Road infrastructure development
  • Complete Rattlesnake Dam Restoration
  • Support parks and trails infrastructure
  • Implement the neighborhood traffic management program

Revenue

Property Taxes

Our primary source of funding for most of our work is property taxes. We make revenue projections based on the information we have when we start our budget process, but we won’t know for certain what our revenue will be until the first week of August. The Montana Department of Revenue will release our certified taxable values then. After that, we can see which of our goals we can reach in this budget year. For FY22, the mayor's budget strives to keep the City's levies flat.

There are also factors outside the City's budget that influence property taxes, including the statewide property reappraisal this year. You can learn more about reappraisals on Missoula County's blog.

American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA)

The City will receive $14.2 million from this federal program over the next two years. ARPA funds give us the opportunity to address housing inventory and affordability, expand programs to prevent and ease homelessness, support residents experiencing behavioral health crises, shore up our rainy-day fund, stockpile essential personal protective equipment, and support businesses and commercial development.

Staying Informed

We have several ways for you to find information about our annual budget. This site will have regular budget updates in the news feed below. In-depth budget documents will be on our main website.

• Subscribe to this project using the button to the right.
• Visit this page and read the updates in the news feed.
• Find detailed documents on our main website. Documents are added each Wednesday for the items to be discussed at that week's City Council Budget Committee of the Whole meetings.
• View budget committee meeting agendas, minutes, and videos on our website.

Getting Involved

You can leave budget comments in several ways. Please note that all comments are public record.

• Ask us a question in the Q&A below. The question and answer will be posted publicly with your user name.
• Submit comments via our feedback form. Comments will be included in the City Council’s meeting information each week.
• Comment directly on the meeting agenda. When agendas are posted on the City’s main website on Friday afternoons, they include a place for the public to submit comments. Sign up to receive the City Council agendas and Committee Schedules in your inbox.
• Participate in meetings. Each meeting has a public comment period, and participation instructions are included in the agendas.