Two key Columbia Falls department heads will see about 10% boost in pay in 2027.

After a lengthy discussion, the city council OK’d the pay raises. The fire chief will go from about $96,000 a year to $106,000 and the public works director will go from about $91,000 a year to $100,492.

The pay increases came at the recommendation of City Manager Eric Hanks. He noted even with the increases, those salaries are what a third or fourth tier management employee makes at Kalispell or Whitefish. He also noted that new hires saw higher pay as that was the salary that was negotiated when they were hired, as opposed to department heads that have been here longer, but were hired at a lower base rate.

The idea, in short, was to keep Columbia Falls competitive in its management positions. 

Hanks also noted that both positions require the individual to be a jack of all trades, as they have to manage the larger program without necessarily having the support staff that other cities would have.

For example, the fire chief manages the paid staff and the volunteers for both the city and the rural fire department. In a world where volunteers can be hard to come by, Columbia Falls is flush in its volunteer force, with almost 30.

Karl Weeks is the fire chief and Shawn Bates is the public works director.

City councilwoman Kathy Price initially questioned the increases, asking whether the public works director was a civil engineer, which he is not.

But again, it was noted that Bates oversees all facets of public works for the city.

Still, the city is limited by its tax base and population. Kalispell has 30,000 people, Whitefish 9,000 and Columbia Falls less than 6,000.

While Columbia Falls is growing, it still doesn’t have anywhere near the tax base of other cities. One advantage the city does have is it has excellent health insurance both for individuals and for families, Hanks noted.

The city’s 3% resort tax does help keep down costs to a degree. While it isn’t used to pay the fire chief’s salary for example, it is used to pay for individual firefighters.

The following are the remaining department head salaries for 2027:

City manager: $157,500

Chief of Police: $126,787

City attorney: $125,000 

Finance director: $99,750

City judge (part-time) $77,808.

In addition the council adopted a non-union fee schedule (except for pool employees) of 3% cost of living plus 2% steps. Outside of public works and the fire chief, department heads received a 5% increase.

The city attorney position is a new one for Columbia Falls. That position is expected to be filled by early August. The city decided to bring the position in house after longtime city attorneys, Justin and Stephanie Breck retired and sold their firm. They contracted with the city however, and were not employees.