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Columbia Falls council approves budget amendments in public hearing; resolution 19-36 passes
Summary
After a public hearing on proposed amendments for fiscal year 2024–25, the Columbia Falls City Council adopted Resolution 19-36 to recognize additional revenues and appropriate them for building-inspection services, tax increment district projects and other items.
The Columbia Falls City Council held a public hearing and on a motion approved Resolution 19-36 to amend the city’s 2024–25 budget to recognize unanticipated revenues and appropriate funds for specified uses.
City staff presented the proposed amendments during the public hearing, saying the changes are routine and respond to unanticipated revenues such as higher-value building permits, tax-increment district receipts, past-due resort-tax collections and an additional state allocation of ARPA funds. The city moved to increase the budgeted expenditure for building inspection services by $37,000 and to adjust the regional appropriation (65% of permit collections) to $121,600 because permit revenues were higher than anticipated. Staff also recommended recognizing $1,322,002.65 in billed real-property tax revenue for the downtown/highway corridor tax increment fund (Fund 2310) and appropriating those dollars for curb, gutter and sidewalk projects and other district needs.
Staff described other recommended adjustments: appropriations to support potential contributions to a traffic light at Highway 2, repairs to decorative and state-owned street lights on Nucleus Avenue, placeholder engineering funds for sewer extensions in the North York Industrial Park, and appropriations tied to Columbia Rising Industrial Park revenues that include personal-property tax from a recently installed press on-site. The packet also proposed recognizing $28,004.30 in past-due resort-tax collections (bars/restaurants) and $59,005.10 (retail) to correct prior-year revenue recognition, and the addition of $4,515 from a state-redirected ARPA allocation toward the wastewater treatment plant project.
Following the presentation, Councilor Price moved to approve Resolution 19-36; a second was recorded. The council gave the motion a roll-call vote: Councilor Price — Aye; Councilor Robinson — Aye; Councilor Shepherd — Aye; Councilor King — Aye; Councilor Leffering — Aye; Mayor Barnhart — Aye. The mayor announced the resolution was approved.
The staff presentation noted some project decisions will return to committees (for example, public works and urban transportation) before specific appropriations are spent; the amendments mainly recognize revenue and make initial appropriations so projects and contracting can proceed when the council and committees decide on priorities.
