Butte‑Silver Bow officials begin push to add Montana Connections to urban fire district, project estimate $300K–$350K annually

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 need to broaden the tax base. He and Gleason also reviewed the district’s legal history, including charter and ordinance changes in the 1990s that established mechanisms for altering fire-district boundaries.

Osborne and Finance Director Karen Hassler sketched possible uses for the new revenue: an assistant chief for training and operations, a deputy fire marshal to expand industrial inspections and plan reviews, and a capital/replacement reserve to reduce reliance on temporary budget fixes. The fire prevention bureau currently has one dedicated staff member, the officials said, and the office logged roughly 100 hours last year on Montana Connections matters.

Commissioners pressed for more detail. Commissioner Fischer asked whether businesses had been briefed; Osborne said the presentation to the council would be followed by meetings with the Montana Connections Advisory Board and other stakeholders. Commissioner Thatcher and others requested a business‑by‑business estimate of expected tax changes; Hassler said the Department of Revenue’s preliminary total does not break the figure down by individual property and that staff can provide property-level taxable values once certified by the department.

Hassler also explained that Montana Code Annotated 15‑10‑420 limits the number of mills that can be levied for a fund and that the fire fund reached its cap, which forced budget cuts. Commissioners discussed whether to expand the district beyond Montana Connections in later phases to address other outlying areas that currently do not pay the urban fire levy.

Osborne emphasized the industrial hazards that motivated the targeted approach. "Montana Connections represents the community's greatest concentration of industrial and hazardous materials risks," he said, listing large fuel and ethanol tanks and other high‑risk facilities and arguing they are the most likely source of a catastrophic, low‑frequency incident.

Officials outlined a multi-step timetable: a resolution of intent and public information meetings, judiciary and public hearings, two readings of ordinance changes, adoption, a statutory waiting period, and then Department of Revenue certification of taxable values for budgeting. Staff said the schedule would aim to complete the process in time for August revenue certification but acknowledged the timeline is tight and will require outreach to affected businesses and entities.

The council did not vote on any ordinance at the meeting; several communications and agenda items (land-sale requests, presentations and public hearings) were moved and placed on file by unanimous council votes recorded during the communications section of the meeting.

The council asked staff to provide the presentation and maps to commissioners, to prepare detailed taxable-value estimates for Montana Connections properties, and to schedule stakeholder outreach before the resolution of intent moves forward. If the council decides to proceed after public hearings, ordinance changes will require a supermajority vote as specified in the municipal code.

Next steps: staff will circulate the presentation materials, meet with Montana Connections stakeholders and the TED advisory board, and provide property-level taxable-value estimates for commissioners ahead of public hearings and any resolution of intent.