The Flathead County Commissioners are considering creating a special tax district to raise $1.9 million per year to pay for the county’s consolidated 911 dispatch center that is in need of many technological upgrades.

In an unanimous vote Thursday, the commissioners agreed to hold an Oct. 28 public hearing on the proposed district, which would impose a maximum annual assessment of $25 per residential unit or $1,000 per commercial unit according to a sliding fee scale based on business type.

The vote comes after city councils for Whitefish, Columbia Falls, and Kalispell voted in favor of creating the special tax district.

A countywide ballot measure to create the special tax district failed last year by 10 votes.

Flathead County Sheriff Chuck Curry said the district could mean less tax for folks who live in cities because the current system of paying for emergency dispatch collects money from both city and county tax bills, which means some people are double-billed. It will be up to each city to decide to take the city 911 assessment off tax bills to end the double-billing process if the district is created.

“I’ve not heard from anyone who sees this as not equitable or as a bad idea,” Curry said. Curry is the chairman of the Flathead County 911 Emergency Communications Center Administrative Board.

The county has reached its cap on the number of property-tax mills that can be levied to pay for 911 services and the end of an $800,000 bond issue is near. The $800,000 was for minimal capital improvements and was part of the original $6.9 million that voters approved for the center in 2008.

Currently, the county levies six mills that raise $1.5 million for the center’s $2.9 million annual operating budget. Each city pays money in for operation based on population, and the remainder of the funding comes from a tax on county residents’ phone bills.

Additional money is needed to make technological upgrades, Curry said.

“We are making the payroll and paying the light bills and that’s pretty much all,” Curry said. “It’s been problematic.”

County Commissioner Phil Mitchell said he did not like the timeline that has been proposed for the district’s creation. By meeting every minimum deadline for public notice, the process will be complete on Dec. 30, just squeaking in before the Dec. 31 deadline for creating a district that will show up on next year’s tax bills.

“We are on a very tight schedule,” Mitchell said.

If the commissioners approve the measure, it will enter a 60-day protest period on Oct. 30.

During that time, property owners can stop the creation of the district if they collectively protest between $190,000 and $950,000 in taxes. At that point, the issue would be sent to the voters in a special or general election. If more than $950,000 is protested, then the tax district can’t be brought before the commissioners for a year.

Flathead County Administrator Mike Pence said the 911 center would not close if the district is not created, but the center would suffer substantially.

A 20-year plan for the center’s operation estimates $500,000 is needed each year to keep the center’s infrastructure up to date.

“It’s very, very expensive,” Pence said. “It’s just like a computer at home. Think of how often we change our desktop computers at home. They are outdated in just a few years.”

The public hearing is Oct. 28 at 10 a.m. at the Flathead County Courthouse with the commissioners set to consider the proposal immediately afterward.

Reporter Megan Strickland may be reached at 758-4459 or by email at [email protected].