Missoula council opens FY2026 budget hearing; projects modest tax increase and $121.5 million in property-tax‑funded spending

Missoula City Council opened the public hearing on the proposed fiscal year 2026 budget on Aug. 4, 2025, after a staff presentation from Chief Administrative Officer Dale Bickle. The hearing covers the annual appropriations and the capital improvement program and will remain open until council considers final adoption on Aug. 18, 2025.

Bickle said the mayor’s budget emphasizes “a commitment to financial sustainability, a responsible investment, and a responsible public service,” and that the administration used a “cost of living lens” when reviewing department requests. “We are projecting about a $2,400,000 savings over budgeted appropriations in the general fund,” Bickle said.

The budget package presented to council totals about $200 million when utilities, the Missoula Redevelopment Agency and the parking commission are included. Bickle said the property‑tax‑funded portion of expenditures — including the general fund, road district, park district, fire initiative, and conservation lands maintenance levy — totals about $121,500,000.

City staff told council they expect a roughly 3.5% increase in property‑tax‑funded revenues that would generate about $4.4 million in new property tax revenue. According to the presentation, 79% of that projected new revenue would fund wage increases for existing employees and the next largest share would cover contractual inflationary costs such as utilities and software contracts. Bickle said the mayor’s budget would not rely on using fund balance to manage operations in FY26 and that the administration is not planning to use property taxes to add certain new positions, instead shifting other funding sources such as gas tax and grants where appropriate.

Councilors asked for additional, narrower slides showing only the general fund breakdown and for more detail on how increases for public safety wages interact with the recent fire levy. Bickle said staff will provide updated slides and more detailed figures at the continued hearing sessions and committee meetings on Aug. 6 and Aug. 11.

The staff presentation also outlined a list of ongoing capital projects, including signal and roundabout construction, the federally funded South Avenue Safe Streets for All planning, trail lighting paid by the Missoula Redevelopment Agency, work on the Engen Building (abatement planned in FY26 funded through Brownfields funds), Fire Station 6 site work, Public Works consolidation at West Broadway, and composting expansion funded with ARPA dollars. Bickle said water main replacements will ramp up toward a $10 million annual investment goal.

Staff noted one‑time components and remittance issues tied to tax increment financing: Bickle said the mayor’s budget includes about $3 million of additional one‑time revenue to help balance FY26, of which roughly $1 million is for directly eligible infrastructure expenses and roughly $2 million is a remittance to the city’s general fund; he said the total remittance across taxing jurisdictions related to the URTs is expected to be in the neighborhood of $6 million. Bickle cautioned that certified taxable values were received the afternoon of Aug. 4 and staff were still “crunching the numbers.”

Nut graf: The hearing opens the formal public process that will allow Council and the public multiple opportunities in August to review, amend and ultimately adopt the administration’s FY2026 revenue, spending and capital plan; staff emphasized the budget’s focus on service sustainability, wage increases and targeted capital investment while trying to limit the property tax impact.

The council opened the hearing for public comment on the FY2026 items (5.1–5.6) and recorded that no members of the public in the chambers or online wished to speak at that time. The hearing will be continued at committee meetings and additional council hearings on Aug. 6, Aug. 11 and Aug. 13, with adoption currently scheduled for Aug. 18, 2025.