Missoula County Fiscal Year 2026 Budget

Following their preliminary budget hearing on July 24, the Missoula County commissioners are encouraging members of the public to review and provide feedback on the preliminary budget for fiscal year 2026.  Click here to view the preliminary budget book, which shows expenses and requests from staff. The recording of the preliminary budget hearing is available online.

Residents can provide public comment using the comment tool below.

Each year, the Missoula County commissioners and county staff work together to create an annual budget to fund county services and operations. The budget follows the fiscal year, which runs from July 1 to June 30 of the following year. The fiscal year 2026 budget will cover July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026.

Base Budget

The County's budget process begins by establishing the base budget required to maintain current services and operations. This includes projected increases in staff salaries and healthcare costs, department operations, capital projects like building renovations and improvements, material costs such as asphalt for the road department and more. An additional $5.76 million in property tax revenue is needed to fund the base budget.

Budget Requests

In addition to the base budget, the commissioners consider new requests from departments aimed at improving services and operations. One-time requests must be funded with savings from previous fiscal years so they do not impact future property tax bills. Ongoing requests require a sustained source of revenue and may be funded through options like a property tax increase, grant funding or fees.

Missoula County staff presented budget requests that require additional property tax revenue to the commissioners' at public administrative meetings in June. These meetings were recorded and are posted to the County YouTube page.

The commissioners will make decisions about pending requests at their 10 a.m. administrative meetings on Aug. 12, 14, 19 and 21. They will hold a public hearing and vote on the final budget at 2 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 4. Meeting agendas will be available online at missoula.co/bccmeetings.

Budget Hearings

Preliminary Budget Hearing:
Staff presented the preliminary budget to the commissioners at the July 24 public meeting. A recording of the presentation will be available on the County's YouTube channel.

Budget Requests:
The commissioners will make decisions about pending requests at their 10 a.m. administrative meetings on Aug. 12, 14, 19 and 21. Meeting agendas will be available online at missoula.co/bccmeetings.

Final Budget Hearing:
Following receipt of certified mill values from the Montana Department of Revenue and consideration of public input, the commissioners will hold the final budget hearing at 2 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 4, where they will vote to adopt the final FY 2026 budget. Public comment will also be accepted during this hearing. Details will be available at missoula.co/bccmeetings.

Impact to Property Taxes

After the state releases certified taxable values to the County the first week of August and the commissioners review and decide on potential budget requests, the County will be able to provide more accurate information about the impact on local property-tax payers. This information will be shared during the final budget presentation on Sept. 4 and on this project page.