Three Forks council adopts FY2024-25 budget, approves mill levy and wage resolution

The Three Forks City Council unanimously adopted the city’s FY2024-25 budget and approved related fiscal measures during its Sept. 10 meeting.

Mayor Johnston read the budget and mill-levy resolutions into the record before the council voted to adopt them. Treasurer Kelly Smith told the council the proposed budget anticipates spending roughly $2 million more than current-year revenues because the city plans to draw on accumulated cash reserves for one-time projects and capital purchases. "We are spending cash we have saved," Smith said, adding that many of the expenditures are planned capital or grant-funded projects.

The council also approved Resolution #428-2024 establishing the mills to be levied and the percentage breakdowns for the State of Montana Entitlement share and the Local Option Tax for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2024. Kelly Smith noted the Department of Revenue is handling a backlog of appraisals and appeals that has delayed some valuations statewide, but she said she did not expect major valuation shifts for Three Forks.

Council members discussed grant timing and accounting details that affect when expenses and reimbursements appear in the city’s ledgers. Smith flagged that Department of Commerce grants require reimbursement requests at 50% and 100% completion and that spending more than $750,000 in federal grant funds in a fiscal year can trigger a single-audit requirement. She said the city is aiming to align reimbursements to minimize repeated single-audit costs.

Specific line items discussed as part of the budget process included a pending $40,000 capital improvement grant not yet received, ARPA Local Fiscal Recovery draws tied to the Water Project (Draw #21, $6,387.15), funding set aside in a Fire Capital Improvement fund (about $300,000 estimated after planned expenditures), and use of impact-fee revenues tied to the Capital Improvements Plan. Smith also outlined planned spending on the Headwaters Trail extension, City Hall remodeling, a vac truck and other public-works equipment, and planned GIS platform work shared across Roads, Water and Sewer accounts.

Councilman Gene Townsend and others said the larger deficits in the expenditure report reflect planned one-time spending rather than ongoing operating shortfalls. "We have been saving up for some of these things for a long time and we are now spending," Kelly Smith said.

The council approved Resolution #429-2024 establishing wages and compensation for appointed officers and employees for FY2024-25 without public comment. The budget adoption (Resolution #430-2024) passed unanimously.

The council’s action means the city will proceed with planned capital projects and grant matches this fiscal year while using reserves to cover timing gaps between reimbursements and expenses. The city’s next regular council meeting is scheduled for Oct. 8, 2024.