Municipal Court Remodel

Program Description

The City of Great Falls proposes the use of ARPA funds to acquire and remodel additional office space.  After the remodel is complete, either the Municipal Court or the Planning and Community Development staff will be moved into the new space.  The non-moving department will be relocated inside the Civic Center with additional space.  This plan was in consideration before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.  

Why this matters

 The Municipal Court and Planning and Community Development offices have reached, if not passed, the limits of their current office spaces.  Reorganization of both offices will not only increase the efficiency of both departments but will also create additional space for other offices in need of additional capacity.  For example, this space may be used for storage needed by the City Clerk Department or for increasing  IT office space.  Additional considerations include:

• Court has identified the need for additional space for additional space for filing, offices, and personnel.  Among the needs identified in the Crime Task Force Recommendations are hiring of additional personnel, enhancement of the Mental Health Treatment Court, and increased pre-trial and behavioral health services.  Each of these recommendations would require additional physical space to maximize their benefit.  Additionally, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Great Falls Municipal Court was forced to severely limit operations.  This resulted in a substantial backlog of cases to resolve.  The Court will need to expand its physical facilities and judicial capacity to reduce this excess.  Finally, this expansion will allow in place security to be reinforced and for new measures to be added.  This will create a far safer environment for Court Staff, law enforcement personnel, and the general public.
• Planning and Community Development - The Planning and Community Development Offices are long overdue for a renovation and expansion.  City offices have expanded to meet community need and have outgrown their current settings.  The main office on the main floor of the Civic Center houses 18-20 staff members at a given time.  Meeting Space, file retention, and other demands consume much of the available floor space.  Some divisions of the Planning Department are located in other offices throughout the building.  Planning handles zoning, permitting, and housing/CDBG related inquiries and services.  This is one of the most public facing departments in City directory.  An remodeled office would create a more spacious and welcoming environment for citizens.  This would also allow for a more centralized office environment.  This would lead to a more friendly "one stop" service environment for citizens visiting planning.  

How is this eligible?

• Municipal Court - The desire to remodel the Court and related offices has been long standing.  The need, however, was made more paramount during the pandemic.  The severe limitation of Court services during the pandemic directly contributed to an increased backlog in case processing.  This is a clear example of a "negative impact" that was "caused or exacerbated by the pandemic.  In fact the Treasury Final specifically classifies "uses of funds to address backlogs resulting from pandemic-related shutdowns" as eligible.
• Planning and Community Development - The need for renovation of the PCD offices predated the COVID pandemic.  Therefore it is not a response to a negative impact.  Additionally, the plans do not involve the enumerated eligible capital uses identified in the Final Rule.  It is, however, eligible as a traditional govt. service that may be funded with "lost revenue" money  - The United States Department of the Treasury allows local governments that lost revenue (i.e. lost taxes, utility payments, etc.) during the COVID-19 pandemic to use ARPA funds, up to the amount of revenue lost, for government services.  This category is extremely discretionary and allows for funds to be used for any service traditionally provided by a government.  Treasury’s Final Rule allowed local governments to claim a standard allowance of $10 million in lost revenue.  The City of Great Falls (which did not experience financial losses during the pandemic) took this standard allowance and may spend up to $10 million of its total allocation to pay for its traditional government services.