Striving to keep Whitefish a great place to live
City Council on Monday voted to approve the fiscal year 2017 budget for Whitefish. The budget provides the authority for the services and projects the city anticipates during the upcoming fiscal year, which runs from July 1, 2016 through June 30, 2017. We are writing as the city wraps up another budget cycle to give our residents a summary of the city’s financial condition and an update on city projects. You can view the entire, proposed budget at www.cityofwhitefish.org.
The city recently received its financial audit for the prior fiscal year and once again we received an unqualified or “clean” audit. For the upcoming budget, the good news is city property owners will see a significant reduction in their city property taxes of 15 mills or 11.18 percent. This reduction in property taxes results from the voters overwhelming approval of the resort tax increase from 2 to 3 percent in 2016.
As proposed, the city’s total budget is $11,983,942 or 18.92 percent lower than last year’s budget because the Haskill Basin Conservation Easement purchase was completed ($7,700,000 of project funds in last year’s budget) and the City Hall and parking structure project was 33 percent complete as of June 30. As a general policy, City Council directed staff to maximize year-end cash balances. As we enter FY17, the city’s financial position is strong with approximately 12 percent cash reserves. We anticipate even higher reserves at the end of FY17.
Despite a property tax decrease, the city is able to increase or add positions equivalent to 2 1/4 full-time positions for the building department, information technology and a maintenance and parking enforcement position for the new City Hall and parking structure. Important projects that are underway besides the City Hall and parking structure are the West 7th Street reconstruction project, new tennis courts at Riverside Park and various water and sewer main replacement projects.
Construction activity in the city has increased to a pace not seen in more than 10 years. We are sure many residents are frustrated by traffic congestion, parking availability and detours, but those are short-term problems indicative of a vibrant economy. Commercial construction has resumed in a strong manner in downtown, at Baker Commons south of The Wave and along Highway 93 South.
Resort Tax collections for June of this year were up by 13.7 percent compared to June of 2016. Building permit revenues are projected to equal if not exceed levels prior to the Great Recession.
With two new hotels now open and a third in the design stage, it is obvious that Whitefish is a very desirable visitor destination. However, we also strive to keep Whitefish very livable for its residents. The newly completed Skye Park pedestrian bridge over the Whitefish River provides improved access to the City Beach area and even downtown for our residents on the west side of Whitefish. With the completion of the Highway 93 West improvements last year, there is now a separated bicycle pedestrian path for most of the way from State Park Road to City Beach. We have begun work with Whitefish Legacy Partners on designing new summer and winter trails and trailheads in Haskill Basin as part of the larger conservation easement project.
The City Council is also working with the Chamber of Commerce on a Workforce and Affordable Housing Needs Assessment that will provide the necessary data for us to take some steps to make housing more available and affordable for our workforce. Everyone is better served when our employees can afford to live in Whitefish.
We are sure that there are issues or projects we forgot to mention and we recognize that many people have different opinions on the “progress” of Whitefish, but as your Mayor, City Council and city staff, we try hard to plan for and manage growth while maintaining a high quality of life for our residents. We hope you enjoy living and working in Whitefish as much as we do.
— John M. Muhlfeld is Mayor of Whitefish and Chuck Stearns is City Manager