Connect With Your Community!
Connect With Your Community!
Projects, raises, and mills were reviewed by the Three Forks City Council while looking over its budget one last time before approval.
The Three Forks City Council met Tuesday, Sept. 10, for its regular board meeting and to review its 2024-25 Fiscal Year budget running July 1, 2024, though June 30, 2025.
The budget was unanimously approved with proposed revenues at $15,214,897 and proposed expenditures at $17,529,673.
“Do I understand this right? That we are actually going to spend $2.3 million more this year, but we’re going to use our cash reserves to do that?” Council President Gene Townsend said.
City Treasurer Kelly Smith said that while it looks like the town will be at a $2.3 million deficit, the projects they are paying for this year the town has already saved money for and none of the town’s cash accounts will go into a negative balance.
Some of the money being spent is going toward the possible paving of Railway Avenue, a car for code enforcement, a truck for public works, vac truck for streets department, mobile truck radios and portable radios for the fire department, money to pay for half of the cost of new signs, which were already placed around the school, and directional signs around town directing visitors to local parks. While the library, rodeo and fire departments, among other entities, have their own funds, they are all under the town’s umbrella.
The city is also still working on water project by driving new wells for the city to use. The city will also continue working on flooding mitigation projects as well, this will be helped along with a FEMA grant.
“We’ve been saving up for some of these things and we have enough money to do them,” Smith said.
The biggest expenditures included in this budget are in a few funds, including the General Fund for around $1.16 million, the Streets/Flood Capital Improvement Fund for around $7.4 million, the Water Project - 2019 Fund for just over $4.1 million and the Sewer Utility for more than $1 million. Smith said a lot of these projects are being helped through various different grants.
As for why the town is approving its budget in September, Smith said that’s not uncommon because they are waiting to receive revenue information from the Montana Department of Revenue.
Smith informed the Council that new properties being built were not taxed yet because the state had 3,700 property disputes so the department didn’t have enough employees to go out and complete the appraisals on newly built homes. Gallatin County towns and cities including, Belgrade, Bozeman, and possibly Manhattan saw a decrease in tax revenues due to this, she explained.
Smith took this information into account when preparing the budget and said she doesn’t believe Three Forks will see the same decrease in taxes because it didn’t see as many new properties being constructed as others around the state.
However, the Department of Revenue is recalculating the taxable values.
“Ours my change slightly. It would only go up and so we might get more tax dollars than what we are predicting,” Smith said.
She said they were told they could hold off a little longer on approving the budget, but she didn’t think that was necessary since she anticipates an increase in tax revenues and not a decrease.
If it does come in a lot higher than anticipated, the town would need to approve a budget resolution.
She said even though they will receive more taxes than anticipated, she wouldn’t recommend spending any more than what’s already been budgeted.
Other Budget Items
The budget also includes a 5 percent pay increase for the city clerk, city treasurer, janitor, code enforcement and public works employees.
This excludes library employees, those still on probation and those who were promoted in the last six months.
The Council also authorized mills to be set at 89.64 for FY 2024-25. Some items included in the mill include, 5.50 mills for Fire Control Capital Improvements, 3 mills for Library Operation, and 1.50 mills for the Fire Relief Agency. What’s left 79.64 will go toward the General Fund.
As for water and sewer rates, Smith said they have not had to raise them in the last couple of years and they will not need a rate increase this year either. She said this is one fund that must be self-sufficient.
