[{"_1":2,"_99":-5,"_100":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6486366,"mediaKeyId","5598081-1fda3898029f98e39dacebd4c4c571f5","parentId",5598081,"title","Tenants' coalition urges council support for right-to-counsel program during budget hearing","audioSeconds",222,"startMs",6027000,"endMs",6249000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5598081-1fda3898029f98e39dacebd4c4c571f5&start=6027&end=6249","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5598081-1fda3898029f98e39dacebd4c4c571f5/thumbnail_6027000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6486366/Missoula/Missoula-County/Montana/Tenants-coalition-urges-council-support-for-right-to-counsel-program-during-budget-hearing","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6486366-7fabddfa36b259c7237d5679eaaf9175/orig.mp4?Expires=1771183227&Signature=hzuJDSK1qRiG6ULu5zd~OKCZPWxpAsosLZz1FgUFApd0O3VS8U4th9sqMG4dPyJsC93qgZ-V3KK02RTiGm7JzUxb9YHPa3eIeZL76trJCwbEiP~VPc~O4-52~yOpVz~UTiHDO9~-Rlktc4W6qWu4u8vmnnraHDcmV7veI1ZdmyqdK8YEiHWU2~eH7Fpt~Kq2uV-yLRxZCCJpSEZNolKm1XrL1dlRhXIV600BTAOBCT2S5i-St-5LguOMK9Xv941p14CVEM0pydJdNsDEgAQ-Po6lnJXEI9iUwQAmWEpAUz9iEwxdk6lmnsFSbHyavtnSyAXlGf0igO8upzlYoXimkw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Missoula, NY","date","2025-08-19T02:59:36Z","article","A coalition of tenant advocates told the Missoula City Council during public comment on Aug. 18 that a tenant right-to-counsel program is ready for implementation in the county and urged city support.

Jackson, speaking for the Missoula Tenants Union and the tenants-right-to-counsel coalition, said the proposed program is \"administered and approved by the legal aid office in Montana\" and that local partners include Montana Legal Services, Partnership Health, and Front Step Community Land Trust. He told council the program has local partners in place and said it could reduce evictions and homelessness while producing net savings in other city and county budgets. Jackson also said Bozeman is scheduled to implement a similar program this fall and that Missoula Public Health has listed right-to-counsel as a public-health priority.

The mayor and several councilors acknowledged prior meetings with coalition representatives and said they would continue discussions with legal providers and county partners.

Why it matters: Tenant right-to-counsel programs in other jurisdictions have reduced eviction rates and produced cost offsets in emergency services and shelter spending. Advocates asked the city for institutional support to move from planning to implementation and asked council to consider the program as a preventive approach that could reduce broader municipal costs.

Next steps: Coalition members provided written materials and asked council and staff to work with legal-aid partners to identify funding and administrative steps. Councilors present thanked the coalition for the briefing and said staff will continue conversations about implementation possibilities and institutional support.

Quote: \"Our program is ready for implementation,\" Jackson said, asking council for help to make it operational in Missoula.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Missoula City Council Meeting August 18, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","A tenants-right-to-counsel coalition urged Missoula's City Council on Aug. 18 to back a program that would assign attorneys to tenants facing eviction, saying it could reduce evictions, homelessness and public costs.","taxTitle","Missoula, Missoula County, Montana","taxId",4050,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6486376,"Missoula council adopts FY2026 budget with modest tax increase, approves fee changes",4857,408000,5265000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5598081-1fda3898029f98e39dacebd4c4c571f5&start=408&end=5265","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5598081-1fda3898029f98e39dacebd4c4c571f5/thumbnail_408000.jpg","/articles/6486376/Missoula/Missoula-County/Montana/Missoula-council-adopts-FY2026-budget-with-modest-tax-increase-approves-fee-changes","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6486376-a8efc5e7eb74480056332beeb63576e7/orig.mp4?Expires=1771183227&Signature=IXAsdEUPYoZciQMSST3AQBRgWoKz9tsI0ehRtsSdc442tkznUj2QHVggOJwGbmTR~U2xNqqg6xao6nLJS4tzVIzysLeccSzCMjnzUcuJxatql2bvoMKSiVQgsRWJMSKzUlWQ6lDovMDnSnAFCxHThHO5N3wifBgyphbOGRVEsbFAtW4sXvUI5H-Yb3CY62a~8Pck1wTcr6emXL55FB10ggslHGK4O~xDOBp3fvoqXk0ji1JEH21TOxRIKqVPcxsqIy2PuNIORmxX1~Tm0w71d~QYfQQ~AlwmIszDiKgueGDpmUosERwGz2QWKl5fj9AZFCm~vujtFkybzXZ-qZPoxg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Missoula's City Council on Aug. 18 approved the fiscal year 2026 budget, levies and a suite of fee and assessment resolutions after a public hearing and multiweek review of revenues and expenditures. The budget package passed in separate roll-call votes, with the main annual appropriations measure approved 11-0.

Council President Cheryl Sherrill opened the council's public hearing and turned the presentation over to Dale Bickle, the city's chief administrative officer, who outlined revenue adjustments provided by the State Department of Revenue and several changes since the mayor's executive proposal.

Bickle said the adopted package represents a 3.39% increase in city property-tax collections from existing taxpayers, equal to roughly $2.4 million in additional mill revenue for the city. He told the council the overall general fund in the adopted budget is about $88.1 million, tax-related activities total about $121 million, and the city's full operating budget (including utilities and enterprise funds) is about $200 million. \"This budget is a 3.39% increase in property tax funds,\" Bickle said, adding that most residential property owners will see a net reduction in their city portion of the tax bill because of changes in state-assessed taxable values; he cited an approximate $257 decrease for a median-value home in the city portion of the bill.

Why it matters: The adopted budget moves the city toward its reserve goal and reduces a structural deficit, while still increasing taxes on the city's portion of property collections. Bickle said estimated fund balance for FY26 is $3.4 million (up from the adopted FY25 assumption) and the structural deficit improved from roughly $3 million to $2.5 million.

Key elements and council discussion

- Revenues and reserves: Bickle said FY25 ended with about $1.4 million more in fund balance than originally expected, and the FY26 projection raises that to about $3.4 million. He said the structural deficit fell by about $500,000 between the mayor's original estimate and the updated numbers.

- MRA remittance: Several councilors pressed on the Missoula Redevelopment Agency remittance that the city will use to help balance the general fund. Councilor Campbell asked whether the $2 million remittance and the total remittance including other taxing jurisdictions (about $6.7 million) represented a large share of uncommitted MRA funds; Bickle confirmed the amount was taken from uncommitted balances and noted future URD increments will affect those balances. Councilors expressed concern that repeated reliance on remittances is not a long-term strategy.

- Fees and permits: Councilors asked why permit fees and other user fees were increasing and how those fees relate to staffing costs. Bickle and staff explained some inspection and permitting functions are funded from restricted fee funds (for example, building inspectors are paid from the building fund) and that prior surpluses have been drawn down; absent fee increases some fee funds would run into deficit. The administration proposed modest, largely inflation-based fee increases (for many permits about 3%). Several councilors said they want to keep monitoring the balance between fees and taxes to avoid pricing residents out of services (parks fees and rental fees were mentioned specifically).

- Service and staffing priorities: The budget includes continued funding for housing-focused positions (houseless operations specialist and property engagement specialist) and salary adjustments, plus additional street maintenance staff funded by existing gas-tax resources. Bickle noted a small, targeted increase for a police digital forensics tool of $6,800 paid from general-fund balance.

Votes at a glance (council action summary)

- Item 5.1: Resolution fixing the annual appropriations and capital improvement program (full FY26 appropriations and CIP). Outcome: approved 11-0.

- Item 5.2 (assessments): Park District No. 1 levy (amount listed in packet) Outcome: approved 11-0. Road District No. 1 levy Outcome: approved 11-0. Tourism Business Improvement District room assessment ($4 per occupied room, cited under 7-12-1132, MCA): approved 11-0.

- Item 5.3 (fee schedules): Parks & Recreation master fee schedule (effective Jan. 1, 2026) Outcome: approved 10-1 (one councilor opposed). Public Works fee schedule (effective Jan. 1, 2026) Outcome: approved 10-1. Business licensing, land use and planning fees (effective Jan. 1, 2026) Outcome: approved 10-1. Fire fee schedule (effective Jan. 1, 2026) Outcome: approved 10-1.

- Item 5.4: Street Maintenance District No. 1 assessment to cover street sweeping and related services for FY26. Outcome: approved 11-0.

- Item 5.5: Special lighting improvement districts assessments for FY26. Outcome: approved 11-0.

- Item 5.6: Transition of certain voter-approved levies (open-space stewardship and fire and emergency services) to dollar-based limits in accordance with the 2025 legislative change (cited in meeting as section 15-10-421a, MCA). Outcome: approved 11-0.

- Item 5.7: Resolution levying taxes for municipal and administrative purposes for FY26 (mills fixed based on Department of Revenue values). Outcome: approved (unanimous as recorded).

Public comment and related issues

Public commenters raised concerns about property taxes, the Missoula Redevelopment Agency and transparency. Bob Moore urged the council to consider abandoning the MRA and criticized past TIF spending. Matt Lisonbee and other speakers asked for clearer public accounting of contract and consent-agenda spending and raised specific questions about vendor payments.

Housing and legal-assistance advocates attended and urged action on tenants' right-to-counsel (see separate public-comment item). Council members acknowledged those requests and said staff and elected officials would continue conversations.

What the council did not do

Council members preserved the budget's overall framework, did not approve additional council-led amendments that would materially increase or decrease the tax levy beyond the package adopted, and deferred a single downtown business improvement district adoption motion for a follow-up meeting on Aug. 20 after updated Department of Revenue figures were finalized.

Context and next steps

Bickle told the council that while the adopted budget shows progress on reserves and the structural deficit, the city remains roughly $2 million short of the fund-balance target and that reliance on MRA remittances was a policy choice to balance the FY26 package. Multiple councilors said they want continued work in the next year to reduce the budget's dependence on remittances and to revisit fee structures, particularly for parks and permit services.

The council will consider one updated motion related to the downtown Business Improvement District at an Aug. 20 meeting after the Department of Revenue posted final numbers.","Missoula's City Council on Aug. 18 adopted the fiscal year 2026 budget, levies and a package of fee and assessment resolutions, approving the main appropriation 11-0 after a staff presentation and public hearing.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6486371,"Rose Park leadership reports neighborhood survey, park and gateway ideas",165,267000,432000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5598081-1fda3898029f98e39dacebd4c4c571f5&start=267&end=432","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5598081-1fda3898029f98e39dacebd4c4c571f5/thumbnail_267000.jpg","/articles/6486371/Missoula/Missoula-County/Montana/Rose-Park-leadership-reports-neighborhood-survey-park-and-gateway-ideas","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6486371-ea7bf0ace26310b142221c08743b6e73/orig.mp4?Expires=1771183227&Signature=Xc5XVGdRNT1SztklwqZKHBlRefS58PBN-R6Lo0zl1xYTU9vl0B02duNEjVCyyP84cE2e~r-DXQMxQ9uSQ0uWB6W8j1oEjjHxtidlOFYT3Xf7c1p4LJ~Tcx-pKQtc6s7iiWo0633TxaD-0fe3fN5SzHxf27Hfinq5k3HaVXjvGRum0bYmJvO5j2S3mak2tV3emObSRy8xk2szB6-GA-5vcLYoDT3RS2Wq3CERtkdTBRXHre-MYeubRE7tMjmE5oSJcDhbsXb9BkJ~9m2LmQ4PhweAT1Bzl0w8O3sH9H0EQTVsxqPZMqJiAmK6x5ztO7te52iIgewBII2fGzqtIYByjg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Audrey Hayes, representing the Rose Park leadership team, briefed the Missoula City Council on the neighborhood's recent outreach and priorities during the council's Aug. 18 meeting.

Hayes said the Rose Park leadership team held its annual general meeting on May 18 (moved from its usual September date) and had more than 50 neighbors attend. Attendees received ice cream donated by a local Baskin-Robbins and heard a presentation on the Rose Park master plan by Garrick Swanson. Informational tables at the meeting included representation from local groups such as the Rose Society, Urban Forestry, Public Works and Mobility, Prost and the Our Missoula Code Reform Initiative.

The team conducted a neighborhood survey focused on the Slant Street gateway site across from the fire station on Mount. \"The main focus was to gauge interest in installing a fit lot at the site,\" Hayes said. She said neighborhood sentiment and enthusiasm for a fit lot was low; the stormwater division discussed the possibility of converting the site into a stormwater garden, though she said current funding for a stormwater garden \"appears unlikely\" and that the neighborhood and city staff continue to explore other options.

Hayes also said the neighborhood team is working with Parks and Recreation on enhancements to the Rose Park World War II Memorial Garden and expects upcoming improvements.

Councilor Jones thanked Rose Park volunteers for their work and for engaging on the gateway site.

Why it matters: The update provides council and staff with community feedback on the potential uses of a small municipal parcel and directs staff to continue coordination with neighborhood leaders on park and memorial garden enhancements.","Rose Park leadership updated the City Council on an annual meeting and a neighborhood survey about the Slant Street gateway site. The neighborhood expressed limited interest in a \"fit lot\" and discussed a possible stormwater garden, while collaborating on memorial garden and park improvements.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Tenants' coalition urges council support for right-to-counsel program during budget hearing

Missoula council adopts FY2026 budget with modest tax increase, approves fee changes

Rose Park leadership reports neighborhood survey, park and gateway ideas