Whitefish City Council held two work sessions recently to dig into the details of the city’s proposed $65 million budget for fiscal year 2021.

The budget total compares to the fiscal year 2020 budget of $55.7 million.

Council on Monday approved the draft budget document, but will hold a public hearing and vote on the final budget on Aug. 17.

While an increase in the total budget figure is expected, there is no increase anticipated for tax payers.

The budget increase is primarily due to the proposed spending $10.5 million more on capital projects compared to the previous fiscal year. The significant increase is expected as construction continues on the city’s wastewater treatment plant upgrade project — an increase of $5.6 million — and the city is set to soon begin construction on the water treatment plant expansion project — an increase of $8.6 million.

Total revenue is budgeted at $52 million, which is 25% higher than FY20, but comes as a result of loan proceeds to fund the wastewater treatment and water plant projects.

The proposed budget calls for levying 117 mills, the same as in fiscal year 2020 and down from the 120 mills levied in both fiscal year 2019 and 2018.

The city budget proposes a 4% salary increase for employees. This increase would be for union and non-union employees. In addition, the city is planning to cover 5% of the 8% increase in medical insurance premiums.

The budget calls for cash reserves at 16% of the budget — an increase from 15% in FY20 for cash as a percentage of the budget.

Police

The Police Department budget includes spending $82,000 more due to increases in personnel services due to higher wages and benefits, and the full-year cost of an officer position that started mid-year of the previous budget.

The department’s budget also includes the purchase at a cost of $41,000 for a hybrid Ford Explorer for use as a replacement vehicle.

Assistant Police Chief Bridger Kelch says the hybrid vehicle is about $3,000 more in initial cost, but over the operating life of the vehicle, it is anticipated for savings for fuel to be about $2,600 per year.

“We’re looking at substantial savings and it will meet our sustainability efforts,” he said.

Fire

The Fire Department budget includes spending $15,500 more due to increases in personnel services including higher salaries, and increasing an administrative assistant position from part-time to full-time.

The department plans to spend $40,000 on a master plan study for the fire and ambulance service.

Capital equipment purchases of a replacement ambulance at $200,000 and a wildland fire pickup truck at $50,000 is also included in the budget.

Fire Chief Joe Page said he is trying to follow a plan of replacing ambulances every three years.

He says the cost of repair and maintenance of the department’s vehicles are also higher than it should be because of aging equipment.

Planning and Building

The Planning and Building Department budget takes into account a slow in building activity compared to FY20, but Planning Director Dave Taylor said the building department is currently seeing unprecedented numbers.

In the month of May, the building department issued building permits for more than 95 new dwelling units.

“There are some concerns with a possible recession related to the COVID-19,” he said. “We’re not sure if building will slow because of it or people will decide Montana is a better place to live because of it.”

Taylor said many projects may have started prior to the pandemic, but residential construction will likely stay strong in the coming year and then may drop.

The building department budget does include the purchase of two pickup trucks at a cost of $70,000.

On the planning side, Taylor says it’s also been a busy time for plan review.

The planning budget shows an increase in spending of $10,000 for contracted professional services that had previously been paid for out of the city’s tax increment finance fund that ends in July.

One planner position was also previously paid out of TIF, but that position has been rolled into the planning department budget.

City Manager Dana Smith said the planning needs for the city aren’t likely to slow down, so it’s important to have staff to handle that.

Parks and Recreation

The Parks and Recreation Department budget expects a decrease in revenue for the summer day camp of $10,000 and a decrease in facility usage rentals at $16,000. These reduction are a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Smith notes that while there is a decrease in revenue expected from these programs, some of the expenses will be off-set because less staff will be hired as a result of decreased operations.

The budget, however, does include an increase of $55,000 in spending due to an increase in personnel services related to higher wages and benefit costs.

The parks budget calls for spending $250,000 on capital improvements at Armory Park. Grant funds have been requested for some of the funds.

The department anticipates spending $25,000 on an overlay for the Grouse Mountain park parking lot and drainage improvement with $21,000 funded with grants.

The recreation department plans to spend $10,000 on the purchase of a passenger van to transport children in the summer camp and after school programs.

Parks and Recreation Director Maria Butts said the purchase would save money as it eliminates the need to rent a bus for transportation and has been on the department’s list of planned purchases for about eight years.

The budget also includes the purchase of a 3/4-ton pickup truck at a cost of $45,000.

Public Works

The Public Works Department budget includes an increase for $137,000 more in spending for an increase in personnel services related to higher wages and benefits.

The budget includes the construction of a new wastewater treatment plant at a cost of $15 million and upgrades to the water plant at a cost of $10 million for FY21.

Capital projects include the replacement of a dump truck at a cost of $150,000, a van replacement at a cost of $42,000, replacement of a 4x4 pickup at a cost of $42,000 and replacement of a loader at a cost of $180,000.

The stormwater fund includes a possible sump pump connection project for Creekwood subdivision at a cost of $50,000.

Public Works Director Craig Workman said the city is looking to team up with a group of homeowners on a project that would bring sump pumps into compliance by connecting them to the stormwater system rather than the sewer system.

“We’ll be more successful in this if we partner with them to install a system than if we try to require them to connect to the system,” he said. “This serves to benefit the city by creating the system.”

The street fund is budgeting for $250,000 in overlays and chip seals.

The water fund is budgeting to spend $1 million on cast iron water replacement projects. The budget also includes purchase of an automatic meter reading system at a cost of $150,000 that will allow meters to be read from City Hall.