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Council adopts police and fire impact fee reports; one councilor opposes not raising fees
Summary
The Kalispell City Council on Oct. 6 adopted Resolution 62-94 accepting updated police and fire impact fee reports and fee schedules, removing an administrative fee and adding an annual price-index escalation; Councilor Hunter voted against the measure, saying he supported increasing impact fees.
Kalispell — The City Council adopted Resolution 62-94 on Oct. 6 to accept updated police and fire impact fee reports and to adjust the fee schedule consistent with earlier council consideration, remove an administrative fee and allow an annual price‑index increase per Senate Bill 133.
Planning staff member Nygren told the council the resolution "does not increase fees" from the level discussed previously but formally adopts the updated reports required by state law and incorporates a small inflation component. He noted the prior report would have been more than 10 years old if not updated and that state law requires local governments to approve an impact-fee report.
Councilor Dowd moved the resolution, which he said simply places the September 2025 police and fire impact-fee reports into the record and adjusts the schedules per council direction. Dowd reiterated he had verified the action "is not an increase in the impact fees for fire employees" and said the resolution allows the city to comply with state law and keep the report current.
Councilor Hunter said he would not support the resolution because he preferred raising the impact fees to better match assessed impacts from development, noting he had spoken with residents who back increasing fees. Hunter said he supported raising the fees "as per the recommendation" made earlier in staff analysis.
Another councilor reminded the body that impact fees are assessed when the building permit is issued and are paid by the builder or purchaser at that time; the speaker said adding fees increases the cost of housing for buyers. After discussion, the council approved the resolution on a roll-call vote. The tally recorded six yes votes and one no vote (Hunter).
The resolution amends earlier council resolutions cited in the motion and places the updated fee reports into the record; staff noted the reports could also inform future housing-strategy discussions by the council.
