The city of Whitefish is in the final throes of creating a special improvement district to pay for a portion of the cost of building a downtown parking structure as part of the new City Hall complex.

Two public hearings at tonight’s City Council meeting are steps toward formally creating the district and setting forth the formula used in determining assessments for the properties within the district.

There are 491 properties within the proposed special improvement district. Of those, 194 will be assessed while 297 properties such as vacant lots will be exempt from assessment until they are developed.

As of last week only two protests had been received by the city. The owners of 50 percent of the affected properties would have to protest to stop the district creation. The protest period ended Aug. 13, and the council will hear an update on any further protests tonight.

The city intends to use the special improvement district to raise $880,000 through district assessments. Of that amount, $750,000 will go toward the parking garage construction; the rest will be used for issuance costs, a revolving fund contribution and administrative fees.

The average assessment will be about $348 annually over the 20-year life of the special improvement district bond.

The council will hold a public hearing before voting on the final budget for the fiscal year that began July 1. The proposed $63 million budget is about $22 higher than last year, due largely to the construction of the new $14.95 million City Hall and parking structure, and an $8 million conservation easement for the Haskill Basin acreage where the city’s water source is located.

Budget increases include a 2.3 percent pay raise for non-union employees. Police and public works unions are expected to settle with the same level of increase. The firefighters union is still negotiating its contract with the city.

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

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.