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Columbia Falls manager outlines FY26 mill-levy recommendation amid state valuation changes
Summary
City Manager Eric presented recommended FY26 mill-levy rates (general fund 108.55, fire relief 1.84, permissive medical 38.05 — total 148.44 mills), explained a roughly 11.55% drop in taxable valuation tied to state changes, and scheduled final budget adoption for Sept. 15.
City Manager Eric delivered the city’s recommended mill-levy rates and an overview of how recent state property-tax changes will affect Columbia Falls households.
Eric told council the recommended rates are 108.55 mills for the general fund, 1.84 mills for the fire-relief pension, and 38.05 mills for the permissive medical levy, for a combined recommended levy of 148.44 mills. He said the calculation used certified values from the Department of Revenue and compared FY26 estimates against FY22–FY25 history to illustrate the effect of resort tax and the state’s property-tax adjustments.
Staff noted the city’s taxable valuation fell by about 11.55% due to amended state tax rates, which raised mill rates while lowering taxable valuation; the manager said the resort tax now accounts for roughly 27% of the city’s total tax revenue and that resort-tax property-relief rules have reduced resident property-tax burdens since FY22. The manager also said some items in the packet were updated (numbers shown in red) and that the council will receive the final budget on Sept. 2 with adoption planned for Sept. 15.
The council opened the public hearing on the mill levy and invited comments and questions; staff answered several technical questions about how the state reports taxable values and how the city uses them to compute mill rates.
