Missoula County Fiscal Year 2027 Budget

FY 27 Budget Overview

Each year, the Missoula County commissioners and county staff work together to create an annual budget to fund county services and operations. The budget is created on the fiscal year, which runs from July 1 to June 30 of the following year. The fiscal year 2027 budget will cover July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2027.

Base budget

The County's budget process starts with establishing the base budget needed to sustain current services and operations. The base budget accounts for increases to salaries and healthcare costs for staff, department operations, capital projects like building renovations and improvements, material costs like asphalt for the road department and more.

Budget requests

In addition to the base budget, the commissioners consider new requests from departments to improve services and operations. One-time requests must be paid for with savings from previous fiscal years, so they do not impact future property tax bills. Ongoing requests require an ongoing source of revenue and can be paid for through several sources, including a property tax increase, grant funding or fees.

Departments making new requests will present them to the commissioners during a budget work session from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, June 8. Residents are welcome to attend this meeting in-person and virtually.

• In-person location: Blackfoot Room, Missoula Public Library, 455 E Main St., Missoula, MT
• Virtual option: Residents can attend the meeting virtually by accessing the meeting agenda and Microsoft Teams information online. To join the call on your phone, call 406-272-4824, Conference ID 145 687 710#.

Budget hearings

Preliminary budget hearing: After reviewing the budget requests, staff will present the preliminary budget to the commissioners at a public meeting on Thursday, July 30. This meeting is another opportunity for the public to provide comment. The meeting agenda and related documents will be available the prior Friday at missoula.co/bccmeetings.

Final budget hearing: After receiving certified mill values from the state Department of Revenue and considering public comment, the commissioners will hold their final budget hearing on Thursday, Sept. 3, where they will vote on adopting the final FY 27 budget. Residents can also provide public comment at this hearing. The meeting agenda and related documents will be available the prior Friday at missoula.co/bccmeetings.

Public engagement

Residents are invited to engage with budget decisions by submitting public comment or attending one of the public meetings and hearings in June, July and August where residents can voice opinions, concerns, and priorities regarding the budget. These forums provide an opportunity to directly engage with county officials and decision-makers on decisions that will directly impact the property taxes they pay to help fund the County.

Follow this page on the right-hand side so you can be notified when there are updates on the FY 2027 Missoula County Budget.