Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Missoula Local Government Academy participants run a budget simulation and confront trade-offs between public safety, parks and services
Summary
Participants in the City of Missoula’s Local Government Academy used a simulated FY2027 budget to prioritize requests, proposing a range of tax increases, targeted raises for police and road funds, and reserve use to cover shortfalls; staff stressed these were hypothetical choices to illustrate trade-offs under statutory caps.
Local Government Academy attendees in Missoula took part in a hands-on budget exercise that forced choices among competing priorities and demonstrated how statutory caps and valuation rules constrain municipal spending.
Facilitators explained the exercise rules: for the simulation the general fund was capped at a modeled allowance (50% of the three-year inflation average, per the exercise rules), special districts were handled with simplified rules, and participants were shown a fiscal-year 2027 worksheet with baseline totals. The facilitators noted that, under the exercise assumptions,…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
