The Ronan City Council meeting on Aug. 27 began with a public hearing on the preliminary budget at 5:30 before the regular meeting at 6 p.m.

The main topic of the meeting was a discussion of a new resolution, establishing the method of levying voted mills to comply with House Bill 231 and Senate Bill 542 passed by the 2025 Montana Legislature.

The two bills work in tandem to change property tax structure and also include language about voted levies, giving municipalities two options on how they assess those.

Option A allows the city to impose a mill levy “sufficient to generate the amount of property taxes actually assessed in the prior year plus one-half of the average rate of inflation for the prior three years.” Under option B, the city would have stayed with a fixed levy recalculated to FY 2025 amounts.

The council selected option A for its two voted levies – a public safety levy and a fire relief levy.

In other business, the council unanimously approved:

• An engagement letter for Craig Shepherd for budget consultation for 2025.

• Resolution 2025-10 to cancel the election for City Judge, Ward 2 and Ward 3, as there was only one candidate for each position (incumbents Allysen A. Jones for City Judge and Lindsay Myers for Ward 2, and Micah Robertson for Ward 3). There are two candidates for mayor, Ryan Corum and Wendy Davis, and no candidates to replace Corum in Ward 1 (which will be filled by council appointment).

• To waive hook-up fees for a water-only connections at the public restrooms at Ronan Cemetery.

The next meeting will be held on Sept. 9.