The Montana Department of Revenue sent their certified taxable values to the City of Missoula on Monday, August 7. This allowed the City to start working with real revenue numbers instead of projections and estimates. Mayor Jordan Hess finalized the requests that would be included in his executive budget. He presented these changes, budget innovations and challenges, and the mill rates for Fiscal Year 2024 at the Budget and Finance Committee on August 9. Now, City Council will discuss what they would like to add or remove from the budget until final budget adoption on August 21.

City taxes are affected by several factors. The part that is under control of the City Council is the number of mills assessed. In Mayor Hess's proposed budget, that number is 279.15, but it may change during Council discussion. The number includes the City's general fund, road district, and park district. At the proposed level, a homeowner would pay City taxes of $376.85 per year for every $100,000 of assessed value of the home. The assessed value on your tax bill is usually lower than the price your home would sell for if you put it on the market today. You can look up your home's assessed value at the Montana Department of Revenue's website. You can also learn more about property assessments in previous article below.

Join us at the Budget and Finance committee meeting on August 16 for an in-depth look at property tax trends. You can participate live in person or remotely, or stream the meeting later at your convenience.