FY 2015 budget accomplishes plenty

From May through August of each year, the Whitefish City Council, mayor, department heads, city manager and finance director meet to review the annual budget for Whitefish. The budget provides the authority for the services and projects the city anticipates during the upcoming fiscal year.

As the fiscal year 2015 budget was adopted by city council this past Monday, I thought it would be helpful to submit to the taxpayers a broad overview of the city’s financial status and plans for the upcoming year.

The FY 2015 budget accomplishes a lot in terms of maintaining low property taxes and expanding infrastructure to accommodate growth of our city. Six years ago, year-end cash reserves as a percentage of expenditures were less than 3 percent. Because this council, previous councils, and staff have taken a fiscally responsible approach to budgeting, the 2015 budget maintains cash reserves at 10 percent.

While the budget proposes to increase expenditures by 11.5 percent compared to FY 2014, most of the these increased expenditures are related to spending down accumulated and saved cash balances for infrastructure projects in the resort tax, street, stormwater and wastewater funds.

It has been a difficult financial road for the past several years and the city made important decision to keep taxes down.

Maintenance needs, purchases and some major capital improvement projects were deferred and staffing levels were reduced in the administrative, planning and building, and parks and recreation departments.

Fortunately, indicators reflect that Whitefish has emerged from the economic downturn as evidenced by strong growth in residential and commercial building activity, approximating 2007 levels. The city’s resort tax revenue continues to grow by an average of 10 percent per year, another indicator of a growing economy.

In 2014, the city rebated more than $694,000 in resort tax revenues to homeowners to keep property taxes down. Whitefish has historically maintained a very low property tax mill levy rate because of our resort tax rebate for property tax reductions, high property valuations, and maintenance district assessments. The city anticipates an even greater return in FY 2015. Good news for Whitefish homeowners.

After three years of no tax increases, the city is proposing a small 0.8 property tax mill levy increase to support our local library — approximately $17,000 of the total budget. This translates to $3 to $4 a year per homeowner. We can’t argue the value of our local library in providing essential services to our community. The library staff and board of trustees have done a remarkable job with the transition from a county to city library, and this show of support on behalf of the community and city council will ensure our award-winning library has the financial resources it needs to provide the taxpayers the services they deserve and expect.

In the parks department, the city council increased the special assessment for greenways and parks by $60,000. This modest increase will be used to purchase equipment to keep our pedestrian and bicycle paths cleared and maintained and to support future staffing levels. Approximately $85,000 in tax increment financing was also allocated to the Ice Den to fund roof repairs and a new energy conservation ceiling.

The City took on some major street capital improvement projects this past year using resort tax funds including reconstruction of Geddes Avenue and East Second Street. As the Montana Department of Transportation wraps up the second phase of the Highway 93 project, the city council has directed staff to initiate corridor studies for Highway 93 South and Wisconsin Avenue following completion of the update to our downtown business district master plan. These studies will evaluate anticipated growth patterns, guide land use decisions, and identify economic development opportunities for these important business districts and neighborhoods.

In 2012, the city committed over $2.5 million in tax increment financing to help support reconstruction of Whitefish High School. As the final phases of this project come to fruition, the city is pleased to see the overwhelming support from the general public, Iron Horse Foundation and anonymous donors.

Your support helped catalyze construction of the new performing arts and technology facility now referred to as the Center for Applied Media, Arts and Sciences. This cutting-edge facility will be the home to music, theater arts, and technology. And as a show of continued support for the safety of our students and teachers, the city and police department in conjunction with the school district are happy to report that the budget includes a school resource officer entirely funded by a COPS grant and local matching contribution.

In conjunction with Whitefish Legacy Partners, the city will finalize the Beaver Lakes Initiative and embark on a new project to permanently protect our municipal water supply in Haskill Basin with our partners The Trust for Public Land and F.H. Stoltze Land and Lumber Company. The City will continue to support Whitefish Legacy Partners and sponsor programs that provide outreach programs to educate children, students, and adults on the values of open spaces, public lands and clean water.

In closing, the city remains committed to keeping property taxes down while providing the goods and services you deserve from government.

I would like to give special recognition to City Manager Chuck Stearns for his steadfast commitment to keeping the city financially solvent, and to the city council members and their diligent work to deliver a reasonable budget with realistic expectation. The taxpayers should feel confident in their city leadership.

The complete budget is available on the city’s website at www.cityofwhitefish.org.

— John Muhlfeld is Mayor of Whitefish