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Whitefish Community Center asks council to consider annual support; city to review during budget process
Summary
The community center requested ongoing compensation support for staff to sustain expanded programming; council directed staff to consider the request for the preliminary FY2026 budget and return with options.
The Whitefish Community Center asked the City Council on Feb. 18 for recurring financial support to help fund an executive‑director position and expanded community services. The center, which operates programs, rentals and Meals on Wheels activities in a building owned by Flathead County on city‑leased land, asked the council to consider a multi‑year contribution to sustain staffing and operations.
Tom (executive director) told council the center logged more than 3,800 visits last year across activities including a parents and children program, speaker series, mediation/counseling referrals, rentals for community events, and Meals on Wheels coordination (the latter partially funded by Flathead County). The center currently operates with a budget on the order of $60,000 in the last year and has an existing small contribution from the city (approximately $1,500 for outdoor irrigation and lighting tied to the lease). The center asked for a larger, ongoing contribution to stabilize staffing (they noted an example wage of roughly $26/hour at about 30 hours per week).
Council reaction and next steps: Councilors praised the community center’s volunteerism and staff work and asked staff to evaluate the request as part of the FY2026 preliminary budget process. City Manager Dana said she could include an appropriation request for council consideration but cautioned that the ongoing legislative session and uncertainties about property‑tax authority and other budget pressures make timing and sizing of any appropriation uncertain. Several councilors suggested starting with a smaller recurring contribution or evaluating the request in the budget process rather than committing tonight.
Funding context: Manager Dana noted the city has other nonprofit‑partner arrangements (insurance and operations support for civic transit and other facilities) and that a $40,000 recurring contribution would be significant in an already constrained budget year (staff noted $40,000 is roughly a half‑mill of property tax). Council asked staff to present options, including smaller initial contributions, and to bring the center’s request into the preliminary budget calendar for council review.
