Missoula County Fiscal Year 2023 Budget

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The Missoula County commissioners voted to adopt the County’s fiscal year 2023 budget at their public meeting on Thursday, Sept. 8.  

Learn about the 2023 fiscal year budget in the Budget in Brief.

Stock image of hands bumping fists in a circle over "budget" documents

Budget overview

The revised final budget for FY 23 includes $211.5 million in overall expenditures and $211.3 million in overall revenue. Revenue includes property tax dollars and other sources, such as grant funding, fees and entitlement share. While not considered a revenue source, the County funds one-time expenses with cash savings from previous years, which makes up for the difference in revenue versus expenditures.  

The adopted budget includes a $35 million increase to expenditures over the previous year. This includes increases to the base budget to sustain current service levels, with employee retention and recruitment as the top priority.  

An increase to personnel costs for Partnership Health Center, which is funded by grants and other federal dollars and receives no property taxes, contributes to the uptick in expenditures. Other factors include $20 million for capital construction and improvement projects, many of which are funded with cash savings from previous years. The $20 million in capital expenditures includes $16.6 million in bond issuances for construction of the Rocky Mountain Gardens and Exploration Center, a private-public project slated to open at the Fairgrounds next spring, and renovations to improve ADA access at the Elections Center. 

Budget priorities

  • The commissioners’ top priority for the FY 23 budget was employee retention and recruitment.
  • Increases to wages and other personnel costs for the County’s 855 FTEs across 30 departments, which provide essential community services, accounts for most of the base budget increase.
  • The FY 23 budget also includes a general personnel increase of 2.5%, with some targeted increases exceeding this to bolster wages for employees to help ensure they can live and stay in Missoula County.

This will help the County retain and recruit the quality workforce responsible for core community services we all rely on, such as:

  • answering 9-1-1 calls
  • permitting buildings, wells and septic systems
  • plowing roads and filling potholes
  • cleaning up hazardous spills
  • running elections
  • providing home visits and assistance to families with newborns
  • reviewing proposals for housing developments
  • responding to wildfires, floods and other incidents
  • serving as law enforcement and detention officers
  • securing grant funding for community organizations
  • staffing the library
  • ensuring equitable access to government services
  • rescuing and sheltering stray pets
  • issuing marriage licenses, birth certificates and other records
  • responding to public health emergencies
  • planning and hosting the Western Montana Fair
  • prosecuting crimes
  • planning for smart growth and land use
  • Inspecting restaurants to make sure they’re clean and safe
  • responding to infectious disease outbreaks
  • providing free and low-cost immunizations
  • working to reduce community carbon emissions
  • processing vehicle registrations and titles
  • managing parks, trails and open lands
  • checking watercraft for aquatic invasive species
  • and much more


Budget requests

To minimize the impact on taxpayers, departments must fund all one-time requests with cash savings from the prior fiscal year. All new, ongoing requests require an on-going source of revenue, such as new property tax dollars, grants or fees.

The commissioners received dozens of requests from County departments this year, and they declined to fund $2.4 million in new spending. The remaining requests commissioners approved include $1.3 million in one-time requests paid for with cash savings; $822,462 in requests that would require new property tax dollars; and $161,115 in requests funded with grants, fees and other sources of revenue. A detailed list of these requests is available under the Documents section of this page.

What else does the budget include?

  • The FY 23 budget also contains $400,000 in revenue from the voter-approved 3% local option tax on recreational cannabis sales in the county. Half of this revenue will go toward the road fund to help offset the loss in revenue after the Legislature repealed the County’s voter-approved gas tax in 2021. The other $200,000 will help support increases in employee wages to help with retention and recruitment.
  • The budget also includes $775,000 to start paying off general obligation bonds the County issued after settling a wage claim lawsuit with sheriff’s deputies earlier this year. This is listed on tax bills as a judgment levy.

How will this impact my taxes?

It depends on where you live in the county (see the explanation below on countywide vs. county-only taxes).

The tax impact of the adopted budget will differ depending on where in the county a resident lives. For property within Missoula city limits, the approximate increase will be $22.70 a year for every $100,000 in assessed property value, or $1.89 per month. For properties outside Missoula city limits, the approximate tax impact will be $25.07 a year for every $100,000 in assessed property value, or $2.09 per month.  

Property tax assistance programs

Stock image of hands bumping fists in a circle over "budget" documents

Budget overview

The revised final budget for FY 23 includes $211.5 million in overall expenditures and $211.3 million in overall revenue. Revenue includes property tax dollars and other sources, such as grant funding, fees and entitlement share. While not considered a revenue source, the County funds one-time expenses with cash savings from previous years, which makes up for the difference in revenue versus expenditures.  

The adopted budget includes a $35 million increase to expenditures over the previous year. This includes increases to the base budget to sustain current service levels, with employee retention and recruitment as the top priority.  

An increase to personnel costs for Partnership Health Center, which is funded by grants and other federal dollars and receives no property taxes, contributes to the uptick in expenditures. Other factors include $20 million for capital construction and improvement projects, many of which are funded with cash savings from previous years. The $20 million in capital expenditures includes $16.6 million in bond issuances for construction of the Rocky Mountain Gardens and Exploration Center, a private-public project slated to open at the Fairgrounds next spring, and renovations to improve ADA access at the Elections Center. 

Budget priorities

  • The commissioners’ top priority for the FY 23 budget was employee retention and recruitment.
  • Increases to wages and other personnel costs for the County’s 855 FTEs across 30 departments, which provide essential community services, accounts for most of the base budget increase.
  • The FY 23 budget also includes a general personnel increase of 2.5%, with some targeted increases exceeding this to bolster wages for employees to help ensure they can live and stay in Missoula County.

This will help the County retain and recruit the quality workforce responsible for core community services we all rely on, such as:

  • answering 9-1-1 calls
  • permitting buildings, wells and septic systems
  • plowing roads and filling potholes
  • cleaning up hazardous spills
  • running elections
  • providing home visits and assistance to families with newborns
  • reviewing proposals for housing developments
  • responding to wildfires, floods and other incidents
  • serving as law enforcement and detention officers
  • securing grant funding for community organizations
  • staffing the library
  • ensuring equitable access to government services
  • rescuing and sheltering stray pets
  • issuing marriage licenses, birth certificates and other records
  • responding to public health emergencies
  • planning and hosting the Western Montana Fair
  • prosecuting crimes
  • planning for smart growth and land use
  • Inspecting restaurants to make sure they’re clean and safe
  • responding to infectious disease outbreaks
  • providing free and low-cost immunizations
  • working to reduce community carbon emissions
  • processing vehicle registrations and titles
  • managing parks, trails and open lands
  • checking watercraft for aquatic invasive species
  • and much more


Budget requests

To minimize the impact on taxpayers, departments must fund all one-time requests with cash savings from the prior fiscal year. All new, ongoing requests require an on-going source of revenue, such as new property tax dollars, grants or fees.

The commissioners received dozens of requests from County departments this year, and they declined to fund $2.4 million in new spending. The remaining requests commissioners approved include $1.3 million in one-time requests paid for with cash savings; $822,462 in requests that would require new property tax dollars; and $161,115 in requests funded with grants, fees and other sources of revenue. A detailed list of these requests is available under the Documents section of this page.

What else does the budget include?

  • The FY 23 budget also contains $400,000 in revenue from the voter-approved 3% local option tax on recreational cannabis sales in the county. Half of this revenue will go toward the road fund to help offset the loss in revenue after the Legislature repealed the County’s voter-approved gas tax in 2021. The other $200,000 will help support increases in employee wages to help with retention and recruitment.
  • The budget also includes $775,000 to start paying off general obligation bonds the County issued after settling a wage claim lawsuit with sheriff’s deputies earlier this year. This is listed on tax bills as a judgment levy.

How will this impact my taxes?

It depends on where you live in the county (see the explanation below on countywide vs. county-only taxes).

The tax impact of the adopted budget will differ depending on where in the county a resident lives. For property within Missoula city limits, the approximate increase will be $22.70 a year for every $100,000 in assessed property value, or $1.89 per month. For properties outside Missoula city limits, the approximate tax impact will be $25.07 a year for every $100,000 in assessed property value, or $2.09 per month.  

Property tax assistance programs

The Missoula County commissioners voted to adopt the County’s fiscal year 2023 budget at their public meeting on Thursday, Sept. 8.  

Learn about the 2023 fiscal year budget in the Budget in Brief.

  • Your Property Tax Break Down

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    While Missoula County collects taxes for all agencies and jurisdictions in the county, we do not keep all of them. Learn more about the taxes you pay to the County, City, schools and other agencies by viewing a pie chart breakdown for your property at itax.missoulacounty.us.

  • Understanding Your County Property Taxes

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    • Assessed value is estimated by the Montana Department of Revenue. Every two years, the Montana Department of Revenue completes an appraisal of all properties in Montana’s 56 counties. This appraisal sets what the state uses as the market value of your home or property for the calculation of the taxable value.
    • Taxable value is based on laws the Montana Legislature passes. The Montana Department of Revenue calculates each property’s taxable value based on exemptions and limitations in laws enacted by the Montana Legislature. The taxable value for your property is listed on your appraisal notice from the Montana Department of Revenue. All residential homes are taxed at 1.35% of the property’s assessed value.
    • County mill rate is set by Missoula County voters and the county commissioners. Missoula County voters have approved spending measures for County services such as weed management, search and rescue teams and parks and trails. All these items are reflected in the number of mills the County will levy. After over 100 hours of presentations and deliberations, Missoula County commissioners finalize the County budget and the mills required to support other necessary County services.
    • Calculate your taxes by taking your taxable value and multiplying it with the County’s FY23 mill rate, then divide that by 1,000. This calculation will only represent services provided by Missoula County. Based on the location of your property, taxpayers will also pay property taxes to local school districts, special districts and City of Missoula taxes. A total tax bill calculation, listed on your tax bill, includes all taxing jurisdictions and amounts each district assesses. Learn more at https://svc.mt.gov/dor/property.

  • Countywide vs. County-Only Taxes

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    Property owners are taxed differently depending on where their property is in the county.

    • Countywide: all Missoula County property owners, including those who live within the City of Missoula limits.
    • County-only: in addition to the countywide taxes, property owners outside the Missoula city limits pay county-only taxes rather than city taxes.


    What's the reason for this difference? City residents pay for certain department budgets, such as the road department, health department and animal control, through their City of Missoula taxes. County residents pay for these services through their county taxes, but they don't pay city taxes.

    A more accurate, oranges-to-oranges comparison of city resident taxes vs. county resident taxes: for city residents, you would need to take “City taxes + Countywide taxes,” and for county residents, take “Countywide taxes + county-only taxes."

    For the most comprehensive, specific breakdown of your taxes, go to https://itax.missoulacounty.us/itax/. There, you can enter in your info (name and address are sufficient) and it will pull up the tax info for your property.