The Kalispell City Council will hold a hearing tonight on a preliminary city budget for the 2015 fiscal year that doesn’t have many striking differences from the 2014 spending plan.

While spending on general fund departments is scheduled to increase just over 3 percent to about $10 million, the city’s overall budget of $46 million is slightly less than the 2014 budget of $46.8 million.

The budget does not show any increases in full-time equivalent positions, but it does involve adjustments in responsibilities and hours for some city jobs. 

“Last year, we privatized airport management services. This year we are proposing to contract out part of forestry activities to test this as a potential model for future years,” wrote City Manager Doug Russell in a forward on the nearly 200-page budget document. “The past year has been identified with looking to the future, taking steps in that direction with our infrastructure development and our community planning.”

There are some other familiar elements with new wrinkles in the proposed budget, such as a general-fund transfer to subsidize the city’s ambulance service. But the council recently voted to let voters decide whether there should be a dedicated mill levy to support the service instead of a general-fund transfer. The mill levy will be on the November election ballot, and if approved would provide funding for the 2016 fiscal year.

Once again, the spending plan strives to meet an established funding reserve that is 20 percent of the overall budget. The projected ending fund balance comes close to that target, reserving 19.4 percent of budgeted revenues.

Projected revenues, however, are not fully known until the city receives property tax valuation information in early August. Because of that, the council is not scheduled to adopt a final budget and set tax levies until Aug. 18.

Mayor Mark Johnson and council members have stressed that they have given the budget considerable scrutiny, but they are encouraging any public input on the spending plan at the hearing or prior to the final budget being adopted.

Also at the council’s meeting tonight, a salary increase of 3 percent will be considered for the city’s non-union employees, a raise that is similar to increases that were negotiated for union employees.

The council will consider a preliminary plat extension for West View Estates, a 60-acre subdivision that is being developed in phases at West Reserve Drive and Stillwater Road.

The council will consider granting a 90-day extension on a lease payment from the Kalispell Golf Association that was due June 30 in order to accommodate continuing negotiations between the city and the association over a memorandum of understanding related to capital protection responsibilities at the Buffalo Hill Golf Club, which is operated by the association but owned by the city.

The council meets at 7 p.m. in City Hall on First Avenue East.

Reporter Jim Mann may be reached at 758-4407 or by email at jmann@dailyinterlake.com.