Council voices support for county 911 funding levy

Whitefish is showing its support for a potential levy that would support the Flathead County 911 Emergency Communications Center.

City Council last week passed a resolution showing its support for a ballot initiative that would create a mill levy to assist in funding the 911 center.

The Flathead Emergency Communications Center administrative board has recommended that the Flathead County Commissioners place the levy request on the Nov. 3 general election ballot.

The proposed special district would generate about $3.5 million, which would provide adequate funding for the center while meeting future infrastructure needs.

Police Chief Bill Dial said the funding district is necessary for the future of the 911 center for operations and capital improvements.

“We’re one earthquake or one lightning strike away from not being able to communicate,” he said. “It’s paramount that we find a way to fund the 911 center.”

Former Whitefish Councilor Katie Williams serves on the funding committee that worked to create a potential solution.

Williams says all three municipalities came together seeking a solution to funding for the 911 center.

“We don’t want to see this fail,” she said. “We knew we needed to find a longterm sustainable funding mechanism for the 911 center. We have top notch 911 service and we don’t want to lose that.”

In 2009, the three municipalities and Flathead County entered into an agreement to provide oversight and funding for a countywide emergency communications center, which provides emergency 911 dispatch and communication support for the cities and the county.

The center has an operating budget of $3.6 million and an approximately $305,000 capital budget for this fiscal year, according to county figures. Revenue fell short this year, but the deficit was made up by cash reserves.

Currently, the county obtains funding for 911 from a tax on telephone service, a levy and from the cities.

The municipalities have long argued that this equates to double taxation of its property owners. A property owners pays the county taxes for 911 and then the cities also pay the county funds.

Councilor Frank Sweeney agreed that the new funding mechanism is necessary.

“It’s a travesty that Whitefish folks are paying for this twice and that we’re not adequately funding this,” he said.

Whitefish’s portion is $265,000 and that would no longer be required.

If the levy passes, the tax bill for a home valued at $100,000 would be about $17,68 and a home valued at $200,000 would see a bill of $35.36.

Voters in 2008 approved a $6.8 million bond for the creation of the 911 center, but the measure did not provide for longterm funding.

A measure in 2014 to create a special tax district to fund the center lost by 10 votes. That district looked to charge residential property owners a flat fee of $25 and businesses would have paid up to $1,000 annually based on size.