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Belgrade council sets hearing on proposed street forestry maintenance fee of about $39.82 per parcel
Summary
Council adopted a resolution of intent to levy an annual street forestry maintenance fee to fund a city forester and right-of-way tree maintenance; staff estimated $200,000 total and approximately $39.82 per parcel across 5,022 parcels and scheduled a public hearing for Aug. 4, 2025.
Belgrade staff presented a resolution of intent on July 21 to create a street forestry maintenance fee to fund a city forester position and ongoing maintenance, removal and replacement of trees in the public right-of-way.
Legal and finance staff said the proposal requests $200,000 annually to fund the program and that, based on 5,022 city parcels, the per‑parcel estimate is approximately $39.82. Staff noted this is a maintenance fee rather than a special improvement district and that comparable Montana cities levy similar fees (staff cited Helena, Great Falls and Bozeman as examples and gave comparative rates from those cities).
Councilors asked for exhibit details showing affected parcels and flagged a minor discrepancy in the packet (one spot listed $39.82 while another section listed $39.86); staff confirmed $39.82 and the council moved to adopt the resolution of intent and scheduled a public hearing for Aug. 4, 2025.
Next steps: staff will publish the required notices and present parcel-level exhibits and additional detail at the public hearing.
