09/02/2024
“Great Falls This Week” is reported and written by Matt Hudson. Send your news and tips to [email protected].
State overestimated newly taxable properties
The Cascade County draft budget needed an adjustment to remove $1.9 million in overstated newly taxable value, according to a summary prepared by county Chief Financial Officer Trista Besich.
Besich covered this “significant note” during a budget meeting on Aug. 26. According to her summary, the Montana Department of Revenue sent a notice to Cascade County letting officials know about its error. The DOR determines taxable values each year for cities and counties.
To complete its budget, the county adjusted the taxable values to remove $1.9 million “while the discrepancy is resolved,” the summary said.
“If it’s just out of the newly taxable, it does not have the potential of altering the number of mills that we can levy calculation, because that’s based solely upon the taxes actually levied last year,” Commissioner Joe Briggs said at the Aug. 26 meeting.
The valuation does affect the value of a mill, which makes a difference in property tax bills.
The 2025 Cascade County budget and summary are available here. The county expects to spend about $82.2 million after accounting for “large expenditures for which the revenue has already been received for a specific purpose or saved for a project in prior years,” according to the county. That is about equal to expected revenues, which are budgeted to be up 3.9% from the prior year.
County commissioners are expected to give the budget final approval on Sept. 5.
Cascade County is not the only local government dealing with apparent miscues from DOR valuations. Officials in Bozeman and Gallatin County were surprised when the state’s valuations for the city of Bozeman actually shrank slightly in the booming town. The state notified local officials that its appraisers weren’t able to account for a lot of new construction after dealing with a backlog of tax appeals.
Hundreds of residents in Browning received tax rebates after the state admitted it incorrectly appraised homes in the area. Before the error was corrected, residents initially saw big jumps in their property tax bills.
Regarding this year’s valuations, the Montana League of Cities and Towns told Montana Free Press that it’s investigating the possibility of more valuation issues around the state.
Property tax laws are likely to be a big topic during the upcoming session of the Montana Legislature.
Photo Op
Students cut the ribbon to celebrate the opening of the Morningside CORE School on Aug. 27, a day before the start of the 2024-2025 school year.
Spurred by the passage of charter school legislation in 2023, the CORE School incorporates teaching assistants from the University of Montana Western who work alongside regular educators. The teaching assistants are paid for their work and earn credit toward an education degree.
Calling all photographers: Submit a photo for Great Falls This Week to [email protected].
5 Things to Know in Great Falls
- NorthWestern Energy has announced an event where it will seek public input about recreation along the Missouri and Madison rivers. As a dam owner, “enhancing public recreation in these areas is a federal licensing requirement to operate the dams,” according to a company press release. Information about the Missouri-Madison Comprehensive Recreation Plan will be part of the event. The Great Falls event is Oct. 17 at the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center.
- The Great Falls Police Department is inviting community members to a mural dedication in honor of Shane Chadwick, an officer who was killed in the line of duty on Sept. 7, 1994. The ceremony will take place on Saturday, Sept. 7, at 8 a.m. The location is 721 First Alley N.
- Mullen Newspapers has acquired The Independent Observer newspaper in Conrad. The company already operates two other area papers, the Valierian and the Cut Bank Pioneer Press. Company founder Jesse Mullen is the Democratic candidate for Montana secretary of state.
- Beginning Monday, Sept. 2, Second Avenue North at 46th Street will be closed to westbound traffic for water main work. No timeline was given for the length of the closure.
- Two hours of free parking at the north parking garage on Fourth Street has ceased as of Sept. 1. The free hours were part of a trial run by the city’s parking division, and the regular rate of 50 cents per hour is now back in effect. City staff is expected to present more information about the trial to the city commission on Oct. 1.
Crunching the Numbers
Malmstrom is the regional leader in environmentally friendly work commutes, according to the draft Great Falls Long-Range Transportation Plan that was released in late August.
67.6% drive alone in a vehicle to work
16.5% carpool
11% walk
These numbers are all better than those in Great Falls, Cascade County and the state of Montana. Great Falls bested Malmstrom in one transportation mode: bicycling. According to the survey, 0.7% of Great Falls commuters did so on a bike compared to 0.5% at Malmstrom.
Following Up
Missouri River Open Lands Preservation is augmenting its fundraising plans and hopes the state will grant some changes. The group was formed to raise money for the preservation of natural grasslands just outside of the Fox Farm neighborhood.
Read prior coverage of the group here.
The group was working toward a late August deadline to raise $1 million to acquire an easement on the 79-acre parcel. According to MROLP, the state granted an October deadline extension. In the meantime, the group is asking for a longer deadline and the opportunity to acquire an easement on a portion of the property before going after a second section. The group said conversations with the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation have been positive. The MROLP website is here.
Public Notice
The Great Falls City Commission will hear a summer update from Great Falls International Airport Director John Faulkner during a work session on Tuesday, Sept. 3. The airport is reporting near-record passenger volume, measured in “enplanements,” in 2024. Operating revenue has grown as well as the airport has targeted what it calls non-traditional revenue sources. Those include industrial condos, a light industrial park and private hangars.
The commission will also hear recommendations from the Public Safety Advisory Committee, which formed as a temporary committee earlier this year to help identify problems and solutions for funding and operations of police, fire and courts services. The recommendations include pulling seven mills from the Great Falls Public Library budget. Read more about that possibility here.
You can find the work session agenda here. A regular city commission meeting will follow.