Missoula officials debate sidewalk assessments, CIP priorities and hazardous-sidewalk repairs

Missoula City Council members and public works staff on Tuesday reviewed the city—s Community Investment Program priorities and questioned whether to continue using property assessments to fund sidewalks, reduce the maximum homeowner assessment or stop assessments altogether.

City staff framed the discussion as three choices for council: keep the current assessment program (city staff described the current maximum single-family/duplex assessment at $9,000), reduce the maximum assessment (a $3,500 cap was proposed by a councilmember), or eliminate sidewalk assessments and fund projects from other public sources. Staff said those assessment payments average roughly $215,000 a year across projects in recent years and represented about 6% of the recurring transportation funding mix in their five-year outlook; they also estimated the assessment component of running a single sidewalk-assessment project takes roughly 400 staff hours.

The decision matters because sidewalk projects are packaged now as "complete streets" work (curb, drainage, pavement and utilities along with sidewalks). Staff said delaying projects raises construction costs because of inflation and foregone opportunities to combine work with other street and utility improvements. Staff also reported the city—s project list of more than 100 candidate CIP items has a planning-level cost of about $215 million in current-year dollars, and that the highest-ranked projects tend to be the ones that attract federal or grant funding.

How the CIP list is created and why projects place where they do

Transportation planning staff described a multi-criteria scoring system used since about 2019 to compare projects citywide. Criteria include plan conformity, connectivity, access (for example safe routes to schools), safety (projects that reduce serious and fatal crashes), equity (serving underserved neighborhoods and areas of high development impact), leverage (availability of outside funding) and readiness (design and right-of-way status). Safety and equity receive additional weight in the composite score, staff said.

Staff said the top-ranked projects are largely under way because they had grant funding; other high-ranked projects are partially funded or included in the city—s five-year CIP. The complete list and a map of projects will be posted on the city—s public engagement page for council and residents to review, staff said.

Sidewalk-assessment options and likely budget impacts

Staff summarized three options for council direction: - Option 1: Status quo. Continue sidewalk assessments with the existing maximums and the recently adopted program changes that added deferral eligibility for low- and moderate-income households. - Option 2: Reduce the maximum homeowner assessment (a councilmember had proposed lowering the cap to $3,500 for single-family and duplex parcels). Staff estimated the immediate budget shortfall for the upcoming Eaton Street project at roughly $76,000, and warned of an ongoing annual reduction in assessment revenue if the cap were reduced going forward. - Option 3: Stop sidewalk assessments entirely and fund sidewalk work from other sources. Staff estimated the average assessment revenue brought in across recent projects at about $215,000 per year (about 6% of the transportation CIP—funding mix in their presentation). Eliminating assessments, staff said, would reduce the number of retrofit sidewalk projects the city could fund from its current projected program, though many federally funded and developer-funded projects would continue.

Staff emphasized that sidewalk-assessment projects require extra legal and administrative steps (bond counsel, notices and resolutions) and that the city has limited staff capacity while it advances several large grant-funded projects. They estimated the assessment administration portion of a sidewalk project consumes on the order of 400 staff hours, separate from design and construction oversight time.

Hazardous-sidewalk program and owner options

Staff explained the hazardous-sidewalk program is distinct from the corridor retrofit sidewalk program. Hazardous-sidewalk work typically repairs or replaces existing, damaged panels. The city notifies property owners and asks them to repair; if owners fail to act the city will contract the work and assess the cost back to the property (staff said the city also offers a financing option so owners can spread the cost over time). The presentation noted a small dedicated hazardous-sidewalk budget (staff cited approximately $50,000 per year for that program) to bundle small repairs and reduce per-job contractor costs.

What councilmembers and residents said

Councilmembers expressed differing preferences: some favored keeping the status quo with the existing assessment framework and using the available deferral tools for low-income households; others favored lowering the maximum assessment to reduce the largest bills; and other members said the city should treat sidewalks as city-owned infrastructure and build them from general transportation funds.

Residents and neighborhood leaders asked for clearer information and better public-facing tracking of hazardous sidewalk reports and CIP project status. Speakers representing neighborhood leadership teams urged prioritizing safe routes to schools and using pilots or alternative materials where appropriate.

Next steps

At the meeting—end a councilmember said she would prepare a referral to staff proposing a reduced maximum assessment (the $3,500 figure discussed in the meeting) and work with staff on drafting the precise ordinance and administrative-language changes. Staff said they will post the CIP project map and scoring documentation on the engagement page, and they asked council for guidance on which assessment option to adopt so staff can build the FY2026 CIP and budget accordingly.

Background and context

Staff reminded the group that the city adopted a complete-streets policy roughly a decade ago and that council approved ordinance changes earlier this calendar year to add deferral eligibility and other modifications to the sidewalk-assessment rules. Staff also noted that many of the highest-ranked CIP projects are being advanced with federal grants and that grant agreements typically carry deadlines and reporting obligations that demand substantial staff time.

The work session was informational; no formal vote or ordinance change was adopted at the meeting.