County sets preliminary budget with $6M increase

A proposed $6 million increase to the preliminary Flathead County budget is on the table for the county commissioners.

The preliminary expenditure budget totals $105.2 million for fiscal year 2021, compared to $99.2 million for 2020.

The commissioners were set to consider approving the preliminary budget on Tuesday, June 30, at the Flathead County Courthouse, a day before the new fiscal year begins July 1. Approving a preliminary budget will give managers and elected officials the authority to spend money and fund their departments before approval of the final budget.

According to County Administrator Mike Pence, the commissioners will hold a public hearing and discussion before voting to approve the official FY 2021 budget “sometime in the third or fourth week of August.”

In the proposed preliminary budget, about $1 million of the increase comes from an increase to the county payroll. The commissioners approved a 3% cost-of-living increase for county employees on May 19. The county currently has 540 employees.

Money transfers make up about $2.1 million of the preliminary budget increase, with $1.85 million a transfer to the county’s capital improvement program. Capital improvement projects include the current reconstruction of the entryway at the Flathead County Landfill and regular new fleets of vehicles for the Sheriff’s Office.

A good portion of these dollars will be saved for future capital improvement needs, Pence said. The money could also be used for the county’s proposed $6 million plan for office relocation and expansion, which includes the purchase of the vacant CenturyLink building in Kalispell and creating much-needed additional courtrooms for the Justice and District courts.

Two large capital projects are lined up for the coming year and are included in the proposed budget. One is a $1.1 million continuation of construction at the landfill, and the other is the construction of three new buildings for storing salt and sand for the rebuild of West Valley Drive. Those costs amount to around $1.2 million.

The road operating budget is slated for an increase of $706,000,

An additional $239,000 would go toward paying for juvenile detention. Flathead County does not operate its own juvenile detention center, and instead sends juveniles in custody to counties like Missoula County. Pence said the county is seeing an increase in the number of juveniles sentenced to time in detention, so the county has to budget for that increase.

Other proposed increases include $162,000 for the information technology operating budget, $115,000 for the Flathead City-County Health Department and an additional $270,000 for the Sheriff’s Office’s operating budget.

Pence said the bulk of the increase from the Sheriff’s Office comes from union negotiations that led to an increase in patrolling hours by sheriff’s deputies, increasing the payroll costs for the department.

According to County Treasurer Adele Krantz, the COVID-19 pandemic has not affected property-tax collections and the county is seeing no unusual impacts to revenue collections. Pence added the county has “adequate cash balances for unexpected situations” and would be covered, but it would make spending cuts if necessary.

“We put together what we believe are good, responsible budgets,” Pence said.