The Helena City Commission voted unanimously Monday night to add a safety levy and a 20-year bond onto the June 4 ballot to pay for new emergency services personnel and a third fire station.
Both Helena fire and police departments need to add staff to keep up with the needs of the growing city, according to department officials. If voters approve the safety levies, the fire department intends to hire 15 new firefighters, as well as add another fire station, while the police department will hire nine additional officers.
According to city staff, the combined cost of the additional police officers and firefighters is about $3.1 million a year, while a third fire station will cost $7 million, which will be paid off over 20 years.
While the city has grown, its emergency services have not kept up, Helena Fire Chief Jon Campbell said during the Monday meeting. In particular, the chief noted, the city does not have a fire station north of the railroad tracks, while about a fourth of the calls for assistance to the fire department come from that area of town.
Helena needs “to bring our emergency service capability up to the level that the community is demanding,” Campbell said.
If voters approve the levies to fund the additional personnel, property taxes on homes valued at $100,000 would increase about $43 a year. Homes valued at $300,000 would have about a $128 tax increase, and a $600,000 homeowner would pay about $256 more in taxes, according to city officials.
Additionally, if voters approve the construction of the proposed fire station, taxes on a $100,000 home would go up $7.64 in the first year. Taxes on a $300,000 home would go up $23 and $46 a year on a $600,000 home.
According to the city public information officer, the city will add information about the levies onto its website in a couple of weeks, along with background and staffing studies that were presented to the commission on Monday.
“I’m really excited to vote for this,” said commissioner Emily Dean said. “I think this will be a positive step in ensuring that our community has the resources it needs to continue to sustainably and safely grow, and I also think that we’ve approached this in a manner that is not unreasonable.”
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