City Commission Approves Public Safety Levy Ballot Language and Educational Program

On March 7, The Great Falls City Commission voted 5-0 to approve Resolution 10500, submitting to the electors the question of permanently increasing the City mill levies to pay costs of Public Safety Services of the Police Department, Fire Department, City Attorney, and Municipal Court. Additionally, the Commission voted 3-2 to fund The Wendt Agency's $150,000 proposal to conduct a Community Education Program to provide taxpayers with information on the Public Safety Levy. The Public Safety Levy will be on the November 7, 2023, ballot.

The effort to pursue a Public Safety Levy stemmed from the findings and recommendations of the Great Falls Crime Task Force that was established in April 2021. Upon further discussion among the City Commission, there was general recognition that the City's broader public safety response posture was inadequate to service current and future city development and the community's growing population. Multiple City Commission Work Sessions were conducted in 2022 and the beginning of 2023, where departments presented their public safety needs based on the findings and recommendations from the Crime Task Force and the City Commission. During these work sessions, community discussions, and annual budget adoption processes, the Commission concluded that the City's General Fund could not sufficiently meet the service level desired by City residents and decided to pursue a Public Safety Levy.

The City was unsuccessful in a Public Safety Levy request in 2009 and has been operating under static budgets while the footprint of the community continues to grow. The last voter-approved safety request was in the late 1960s when voters approved a General Obligation Bond for the construction of the four current fire stations and a fire training center. 

The Public Safety Levy ballot question being proposed on November 7, 2023 to the registered voters of the City is as follows:

Shall the City Commission of the City of Great Falls, Montana (the "City") be authorized to levy mills for the purpose of paying costs of public safety services, including operations, maintenance and certain capital costs of the police department, fire department, city attorney and municipal court services and related public safety expenses?  

If this mill levy proposition is passed, the City will be authorized to levy permanently up to 103.75 mills per year, to raise approximately $10,717,305. Based on the current taxable value of the City, the property taxes on a home with an assessed market value for tax purposes of $100,000 would increase by $140.06 per year and property taxes on a home with an assessed market value for tax purposes of $200,000 would increase by $280.11 per year.