The city budget takes center stage at tonight’s Whitefish City Council meeting.

The council hold two public hearings as it prepares to finalize a $40.4 million budget for the coming fiscal year. That’s an 11.54 percent or $4.1 million increase from last year.

Most of the increase is attributed to spending down accumulated and saved cash balances for infrastructure projects in the resort tax, street, stormwater, water and wastewater funds, according to City Manager Chuck Stearns’ budget message.

The first hearing involves four budget amendments to last year’s budget to cover expenditures and transfers that exceeded or did not have budget authority. They include $17,000 to the law enforcement fund to cover the additional costs of cashing out compensation pay for officers who had accumulated over 60 hours. The payouts were done due to a personnel policy revision limiting compensation pay to a maximum accumulation of 60 hours.

Other amendments to close out last year’s budget include $4,500 to the building codes fund to cover insurance deductible payments for three unanticipated insurance claims; $100 to the Whitefish Trail fund for a small over-expenditure on trail construction; and $700 to the solid waste fund for a small over-expenditure.

Whitefish intends to budget a 4.16 percent or $110,242 increase in revenue from property taxes because of a 3.47 percent increase in the city’s certified taxable valuation and because of a 0.8 mill levy increase allocated to the city’s library.

For a residential property with a market value of $300,000, the tax increase of 0.8 mills will be about $3.69 annually.

In other business, the council will consider passing an emergency ordinance creating an interim Whitefish Planning Board that will include city residents only. The City-County Board was disbanded after a state Supreme Court ruling gave Flathead County planning control of Whitefish’s two-mile “doughnut” around the city.

The council will vote on a proposed resolution approving a license agreement with Gold Creek Cellular of Montana for a new monopole, equipment building, antennas and related radio equipment at Memorial Field Park.

The meeting begins at 7:10 p.m. at Whitefish City Hall.