Mayor Hess presented his executive budget to City Council on June 28. He laid out his priorities in his budget letter in detail. In summary, those priorities follow the four pillars of the City's strategic plan.

Community Safety, Health and Well-being

• Year-round emergency shelter. We’re partnering with Missoula County to fund the $1.7 million in operating costs, and our team is working on improvements to make sure the facility is ready for year-round use.
• Funding in the Parks and Road Districts for support for staff and public safety with security in neighborhoods, garbage hauling, and hazard pay for employees.
• Crisis Intervention Team program, based in the Police Department, funded at $313,000 to maintain its current level of service.
• Mobile Support Team, based in the Fire Department, funded to maintain service at $1.3 million.
• Attorney’s Office ongoing funding for a formerly grant-funded crime victim advocate position, and we’re adding a new coordinator with additional grant funds.

Organizational Excellence and Resilience

• 3.5 percent cost-of-living increase for non-union staff. Negotiations continue with our police and fire unions, where we know our wages are below market rates and need a boost.
• Allocating ongoing funding to continue the work of our Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion program, previously funded with one-time funds.
• Create efficiencies within Central Services with a new payroll system.
• Design and remediation will begin in earnest on the former federal courthouse, which will become the new home for many City and County functions.
• Engage a consultant to develop a comprehensive constituent services, engagement, and communications plan for Council and the administration.

Economic Health

• Nearly $5 million into the Affordable Housing Trust Fund this year through the sale of the former Sleepy Inn site on West Broadway and the Riverfront Triangle in addition to general fund support.
• Continue to work toward our goal of 100 percent clean electricity by 2030, which includes work on the Renewable Rate Option with the City of Bozeman and Missoula County, taking advantage of contracts and grants whenever possible.
• $30,000 to the United Way’s Child Care Advantage program.
• Proactive lobbying strategy for work between sessions of the Montana State Legislature to advocate for desperately needed reforms.
• Working with the National League of Cities, the U.S. Department of Labor, and local partners to develop a pipeline for clean energy and infrastructure workforce development in Missoula, with an end goal of providing good jobs that pay well for disadvantaged members of our community.

Community Design and Livability

• $425,000 for the continuing Our Missoula growth policy and code reform project and maintains the staff on our innovative engagement process.
• $415,000 for consultants and engagement our Parks, Recreation, Open Space, and Trails plan to create more urban standards for our parks as our city grows . T
• Evaluate our Urban Forestry program, including an innovative tree inventory.
• Complete the first phase of the Mullan BUILD Grant area totaling $2.9 million this fiscal year.
• Continue our sidewalk and mobility programs with $5.7 million invested in sidewalks and greenways.
• Make improvements for all modes of transportation on South Avenue in partnership with Missoula County, leveraging $9 million in federal funding with $2 million in city funds.
• Missoula Redevelopment Agency will invest $7.7 million in public infrastructure for such things as sidewalks and water infrastructure, specifically $3.5 million for the Bitterroot Trail Bridge project in URD II and $2.4 million for the Bitterroot Trail lighting project in URD III.
• Missoula Water will invest $11.5 million in infrastructure as we continue to keep the promises we made in the water utility acquisition. We’ve turned the corner on leakage, reducing our environmental impact, and we’ll continue that work.
• Invest $8.2 million in our wastewater utility’s collection and treatment systems.
• Repair and reopen the Northside Pedestrian Bridge in FY24 for an additional $2.7 million.
• $1.5 million in the Clark Fork River through an access project funded by a federal grant from the Economic Development Administration as well as our partners at the Missoula Downtown Foundation.
• Providing a match for a federal Transportation Alternatives grant to help reduce operations costs with deferred repairs to sidewalks, wells, irrigation systems, fences and pathways.
• Focus our grant-writing efforts on electrification, sustainability, and resilience, with an overall goal of reducing our climate impact.