Members of the Kalispell City Council begin sifting through the preliminary budget draft at a work session tonight. As it stands, the city budget is expected to top $50 million for 2016.

A $5.6 million increase from the current year’s budget is marked by potential development spending through the city’s tax increment finance districts.

“About half of that is the Westside TIF, which is how they’re going to fund the match for the TIGER grant,” Kalispell Finance Director Rick Wills said.

A large piece of the $3.5 million Westside Tax Increment Finance District spending could go toward the Glacier Rail Park project. The industrial area and Center Street development plan received a $4.5 million commitment from the Kalispell City Council last week. That amount could be distributed throughout the life of a five-year grant from the federal government.

That grant has not been secured yet, and the local match is contingent on the federal money.

The westside tax district received a boost in tax collections in the 2015 budget. For fiscal 2016, the city is planning for $3.5 million in redevelopment spending from that fund, which is up $1 million from the previous year.

Another tax increment finance district of note is for the Kalispell City Airport. The budget draft calls for $1.2 million in redevelopment spending, though this comes at a time when the city is reviewing options for the facility and surrounding commercial area.

According to a budget draft memorandum from City Manager Doug Russell, the city will have a better idea of where those resources will be directed once a plan for the airport is drafted. That’s expected to come this fall.

The general fund handles basic government functions for city departments such as police, fire and administration. The largest item in that fund is always personnel.

Staffing levels will be relatively even into the next year. According to the draft, 1.95 full-time equivalent employees could be added to the city. That includes a full-time position of assistant plant manager for the wastewater treatment plant.

Officials have looked into adding an officer to the Kalispell Police Department to fill out a low point in on-duty officers, between 3 a.m. and 7 a.m., Russell’s memo said. Initial funding appears to be short for that position, though. This could be a point of discussion during council deliberations.

The topic of police staffing came up at a recent council meeting, when a local commercial property owner spoke about a rash of recent break-ins.

Businessman Ken Yachechak said that while the Kalispell Police Department is a “first-class” operation, there simply aren’t enough officers to handle these incidents. He urged council members to look at bolstering the police force.

“Most of you have campaigned not to raise taxes, provide smaller government,” Yachechak told the council. “But frankly, government is for the health, welfare and the safety of the people.”

On the revenue side of things, property tax collections continue a slow, but steady incline over the past couple of years. For 2016, the city expects a 4 percent increase in property tax revenue over the previous year.

That’s an estimate at this point, Wills said. The city has a baseline increase to rely on from the previous property assessments on existing property, and will wait until the summer to get final figures on new tax revenue.

“What we don’t know is growth,” he said. “And we tend to be fairly conservative [in estimates].”

The council has budgeted three days for this round of fiscal discussions. The first will be tonight at 7 p.m. Two more could come on the following days at the same time.

The council meets at City Hall, 201 First Ave. E.

Reach reporter Matt Hudson at 758-4459 or by email at mhudson@dailyinterlake.com.