FAQs
Debt limit: County governments are unable to issue debt for more than $2 million for any purpose without voter approval.
Restrictions on use of funds: The line items on your tax bill show where county tax revenue goes. Much of our tax revenue is restricted. Money that is collected does not all go into one account that can be divided up. Funds must be spent on the purpose they were collected for. For example, money that is designated for the Elections Center or the Public Safety Fund cannot be used for Animal Control or the Fairgrounds.
Restrictions on use of voter-approved funds: When voters approve a bond or levy, the money must be spent in line with the ballot language voters approved. For example, the County cannot decide to use open space bond funds for any other service or expense, like housing or public safety.
How much, per person, is the County spending on homeless people each year?
The County’s FY 24 budget includes $1 million in federal American Rescue Plan funds to support initiatives that help people experiencing homelessness. This will support the salary for the County’s shelter project coordinator, as well as Temporary Safe Outdoor Space operations. Hope Rescue Mission, in partnership with United Way of Missoula County, operates the TSOS. In July 2023 alone, the TSOS served 43 individuals, including housing 30 on-site while helping them access social security or secure permanent housing options.
Initially set up in response to the pandemic, the TSOS has become a model for how to successfully offer people experiencing homelessness a safe space to live while connecting them to appropriate, sustainable housing resources and providing a reliable location for case managers and service providers to reach clients. Many TSOS residents are employed, and having direct access to services helps them maintain the stability needed to secure permanent housing.
The average length of stay for individuals is 120 days, and since June 2022, it's had zero calls for service for local law enforcement.
You can learn more about this program here: https://www.missoulacounty.us/government/administration/commissioners-office/temporary-safe-outdoor-space
Programs like the TSOS are designed to save resources from emergency responders and provide long-term stability for those experiencing homelessness. Reducing the impact of this program to dollars per person served (or county resident) would not accurately reflect the dollars saved or invested in our community countywide.
The County's budget also includes $935,000 to go toward temporarily reopening the Johnson Street shelter, which, due to the Ninth Circuit Court decision in Boise v. Martin, is legally necessary for the County and City to be able address the issue of people living without shelter in public places. Having the Johnson Street shelter as an option will allow local government to effectively enforce relevant regulations and address the public safety and public health concerns associated with the increasing number of encampments.
This contribution will come from a $935,000 disbursement the County will receive from Tax Increment Financing districts within the City of Missoula. This money is generated solely by property taxes paid by property owners within these districts, which are entirely within the City of Missoula. Only property-tax payers within specific districts within city limits have paid into this fund, so it does not include all city residents, and it does not include any taxpayers outside Missoula city limits.
Can you clarify how many mills you’re levying for each jurisdiction – County-wide and County-only – versus last year?
In fiscal year 2024, the County is levying 174.24 County-wide mills, 46.91 County-only mills and 12.15 for the voter-approved Open Space bond. In fiscal year 2023, the County levied 207.81 County-wide mills, 42.71 County-only mills and 12.33 for the voter-approved Open Space bond.
I had a 63% increase to the taxable value which the County uses to evaluate my tax bill. Why would the tax rate need to increase to provide 5.4% more income to cover the County's budgetary needs? Why is the County not lowering its tax rate?
First, let us assure you that the amount your home went up in value, 63%, is not the rate at which the County can increase the taxes we levy. Montana law limits how much property tax revenue local governments can bring in each year to half the rate of inflation from the previous three years. The 5.4% refers to the total increase in tax revenue across all properties. This impacts each home differently because of reappraisal, the amount your home went up, and the number of mills the county will levy, which will go down this year.
The type of property being taxed also determines what the tax impact will be. The state of Montana determines the tax rate for the different classes of property, which include residential, commercial, centrally assessed, business equipment and others. While the tax rate for residential taxes have gone up, centrally assessed properties and business taxes have gone down or received exemptions. So, while local governments do get more money from residential payers, we are getting less from businesses and centrally assessed property, like railroads and power companies. To take in the same revenue, residential taxpayers are bearing more of the burden.
Finally, the other taxing jurisdictions you may live in, like the City of Missoula, school districts and state, are finalizing their budgets, so we can’t tell you exactly how much your tax bill will be at this point. You are right though that you will pay some amount more than you paid last year. The commissioners worked hard to keep the County increase as low as possible.
Why do the huge tax increases from previous years not temper the increase proposed for 2024?
Property taxes come from the City, County, State and local schools, and only around 20% of an average tax bill goes to the County. Montana law limits how much property tax revenue local governments can bring in each year to half the rate of inflation from the previous three years. To sustain current services and operations, this 5.4% increase mostly is to pay for the increases to wages and healthcare costs for the County’s 855 FTEs across 30 departments that provide essential government services. It’s also important to keep in mind the 5.4% refers to the total increase in tax revenue across all properties. This impacts each home differently because of reappraisal, the amount your home went up, and the number of mills the county will levy, which will go down this year. If your property had not gone up in value, the County portion of your tax bill would actually go down. However, we know this is not the case for most properties in Missoula County, and your taxes will go up regardless. These increases also seem higher from 2015 on, because the state legislature changed reappraisal cycles from being every two years as opposed to every five years. This was meant as a measure to help property owners pay an accurate amount in taxes when housing appraisals went down (such as during the 2008 housing market crash), but it also hurts property owners when housing appraisals skyrocket (as they have in recent years).
Is there nothing that can be defunded from past budget years to help reduce the tax burden?
Property taxes support core services such as 9-1-1, Sheriff, County Attorney and Elections, and state law requires counties to provide many of these services. The commissioners are open to hearing from the community if there are fewer services they would like to see for next year, but they do ask that you look carefully at what is funded from property taxes and make specific suggestions. The commissioners denied funding for $1.84 million in new spending this year.
Why do we need "Rocky Mountain Gardens program coordinator and staff," or "Culture and Recreation Director promotion?" How do these fit in with essential government services, much less serve people outside the city limits and contiguous areas?
Many residents (both rural and urban) continue to request and express support for increased opportunities to connect with the natural environment through recreational and educational opportunities. Improvements at the Fairgrounds, including the Rocky Mountain Gardens, enhances our ability to ensure Missoula County’s rural heritage remains strong and staff work directly with rural residents to address noxious weed management, garden and farming questions and other needs in conjunction with Montana State University Extension programs. In addition, Missoula County has more than 90 parks located throughout the county, not including the Fairgrounds, Larchmont Golf Course, and (potentially) Marshall Mountain Park. Management and oversight of these county amenities and associated programs is being consolidated under a new a leadership structure, to enhance collaboration, efficiency and stewardship of these valued public resources. As these efforts move forward, we will continue to regularly engage rural communities to understand their needs and work with them to find solutions.
Why not get local groups to maintain trails and recreation areas?
Local groups have and continue to volunteer many hours to our community helping maintain trails and recreation areas throughout the County. This approach will be an important tool for managing the recreational amenities that Missoula County residents value into the future, but local groups cannot do it alone. Employed county staff are needed to provide the professional direction, technical expertise and ensure public health and safety needs are adequately met to ensure the continued successful efforts of our local partner groups and volunteers.
Is there anything the County can do to enforce speed limits on roads where there are lots of speeders?
If you have concerns over speeding, please contact the Sheriff’s Office at 406-258-4810 to ask for extra patrols for these areas. The Sheriff’s Office does its best with the staffing available to help enforce the speed limits. In addition, Public Works can place speed signs in the area that show the speed limit and speed being traveled to help remind folks to follow the speed limit.
Do we have funds to sweep bike lanes so bikers can actually use them, and not ride in the streets?
Missoula County Parks, Trails and Open Lands, in partnership with Public Works and local contractors, works to clear the trails and bike lanes we maintain several times per year. If there is a specific trail or street you’re concerned about, please reach out to Parks, Trails and Open Lands at 406-258-4657 and they can provide more specific details. Missoula County does not maintain most trails or roads inside the City of Missoula. For that, you will need to reach out to the City’s Parks and Recreation or Public Works departments.
Do the commissioners approve every budget request they get?
The commissioners regularly deny budget requests. For the fiscal year 2024 budget, they denied $1.84 million in new spending. Most of the denials were for new, ongoing staff positions, which become the largest expense over time. The commissioners denied $1.1 million in new ongoing spending for 13.5 new full-time positions and four promotions.
Does all money the County spends come from property tax dollars?
Of the money Missoula County spends, only around one-third of it comes from property taxes. The other two-thirds of the money the County spends comes from money passed down from the federal or state government, as well as from competitive grants the County applies for. Missoula County also encompasses Partnership Health Center, which is a Federally Qualified Healthcare facility that is not funded by property tax dollars.
For this reason, spending is not an accurate assessment of how the County will tax you. In years where the County seems to have spent lots of money, this money can often be linked back to grants received, such as the $13 million BUILD grant the County received to help build out the Mullan Road area, or to times when there was more federal or state money trickling down to local governments, such as during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The graph below shows budget expenditures in comparison to revenue from property taxes from 2017 through 2023. Expenditures include examples listed above like PHC (federally funded), grants and other sources of revenue. Overall budget growth is not the same as property tax growth.
Are my tax dollars going up because of the County’s spending? I’ve seen a graph that showed County spending increasing a lot in the past few years.
To understand why your taxes increase, it's important to know that while your tax bill comes from Missoula County, it also includes taxes from the City, County, State, schools and other special districts you live in. Even if the County didn't raise taxes at all, your tax bill may still go up if other jurisdictions increase their revenue from property taxes.
You also may have seen claims that the County increasing spending in the past few years is directly correlated to an increase in property taxes. Only around one-third of the County's revenue comes from property tax dollars though; the rest of what the County spends comes from competitive grants, such as the $13 million BUILD grant the County received to help build out the Mullan Road area, or money passed down from the state or federal government, like COVID-19 relief aid. The County's total expenditures also include the budget for Partnership Health Center, which is a Federally Qualified Healthcare facility that does not receive any property tax dollars.
See the graph posted here for a more accurate assessment of how much County property taxes have gone up in the last few years. The graph shows total budget expenditures and revenue from property taxes compared to population growth and inflation from 2017 to 2023.
Is the County helping pay to reopen the Johnson Street shelter? Are my tax dollars going toward this project?
The County's FY24 budget includes $900,000 to go toward temporarily reopening the Johnson Street shelter, which, due to the Ninth Circuit Court decision in Boise v. Martin, is legally necessary for the County and City to be able address the issue of people living without shelter in public places. Having the Johnson Street shelter as an option will allow local government to effectively enforce relevant regulations and address the public safety and public health concerns associated with the increasing number of encampments.
This contribution will come from a $900,000 disbursement the County will receive from Tax Increment Financing districts within the City of Missoula. This money is generated solely by property taxes paid by property owners within these districts, which are entirely within the City of Missoula. Only property-tax payers within specific districts within city limits have paid into this fund, so it does not include all city residents, and it does not include any taxpayers outside Missoula city limits.
Can the County raise property taxes as much as they want?
No. Montana law imposes limits on how much property tax revenue local governments can bring in each year. This is often referred to as the “mill cap” and is determined by a formula that limits property tax increases to half the rate of inflation from the previous three years. It is also based on the previous year's tax revenue. Voted levies are not included in this equation. The theory behind this limit is to allow government budgets to keep pace with economic changes while maintaining a base level of services from the previous year.
Additional limits to county spending include:
Can the County use open space bond money to address homelessness?
No. The open space bonds were voted in by Missoula County residents to conserve and enhance open space land for agricultural use, fish and wildlife habitat, rivers, lakes and streams; to protect scenic views; provide public access; and make improvements related to those purposes on open space lands.
Open space bond funds can only be spent on land or improvements that meet the goals of conserving, enjoying and enhancing open space land. These funds cannot be used to pay for other services, programs or initiatives, such as addressing homelessness. It would be illegal and disingenuous for these funds to be used for anything other than their voter-approved use.
Though local governments cannot use open space bond funds for homelessness, the County can be creative with other funds to address the issue. For example, Missoula County used federal American Rescue Plan Act funds to work with HOPE Rescue Mission and United Way to set up the Temporary Safe Outdoor Space, which has successfully served people experiencing homelessness since 2020.
Learn more about the TSOS at http://missoula.co/tsos and learn more about open space bonds at http://missoula.co/openspace
How often does the County decide to reappraise my property?
The County does not reappraise your property. The Montana Department of Revenue, a branch of state government, calculates property reappraisals. Reappraisals happen every two years. The department just issued reappraisals in 2023, and the next reappraisal year is 2025.
Appraisals are intended to show the current assessed value of your property. The “assessed value” looks at location, comparable home sales and other factors and is not the same as the “fair market value,” which is what the property could potentially sell for.
Though appraisals are a key factor in determining the property taxes you’ll owe, the County has no authority to influence appraisals and when they happen. The Montana Legislature determines the frequency of appraisals. If you think appraisals should occur at a different frequency, contact your state legislators to let them know!
If you think your Montana Department of Revenue appraisal is inaccurate, you can appeal it within 30 days by submitting a request for informal review to the Montana Department of Revenue, or formally by appealing it at the County Tax Appeal Board. In Missoula County, you can fill out that application online.
If you want to view your current tax bill, visit Missoula County's iTax website.