Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Butte‑Silver Bow officials begin push to add Montana Connections to urban fire district, project estimate $300K–$350K annually
Summary
Fire services director told the council that extending the urban fire tax district to include the Montana Connections industrial park could raise an estimated $300,000–$350,000 a year and fund additional hazmat training and inspections; commissioners asked for more business-level tax estimates and a public hearing timeline.
Butte‑Silver Bow’s fire services director presented a proposal March 11 to expand the county’s urban fire protection district to include the Montana Connections industrial area, saying the change would spread costs more equitably and help restore the department’s fiscal stability.
"The purpose of this presentation is initiating the process of ordinance change to include the Montana Connections area into the urban fire protection district," Director of Fire Services Zach Osborne told the council, arguing the industrial park benefits from fire protection but does not currently pay into the urban fire tax fund.
Osborne said Department of Revenue estimates put the additional annual revenue at roughly $300,000 to $350,000 if the Montana Connections area were incorporated into the urban fire district. He and longtime local government employee Dette Gleason said the proposal is intended to stabilize staffing and equipment funding after contract revenue that previously offset some costs sunset in 2022.
"This fund reached its cap in 2024," Osborne said, describing cuts the department had to make and the…
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
