Tax concerns prompt Missoula County to pull road levy from ballot

While the Missoula City Council levied 2 mills to fund homeless services this week, Missoula County on Wednesday said it plans to pull its infrastructure levy from the November ballot, citing concerns over ever-rising taxes.

Earlier this month, commissioners announced plans to place the levy on the ballot for voters to consider, saying the funding — roughly $1.7 million annually — would go to road and bridge maintenance.

A home with an appraised value of $500,000 would have been taxed $33 a year.

“The state legislature is going to take on property tax reform in a way they never have in the past, and they very well could be successful, and if they are, that could reduce the need for us to look to this type of measure to generate money to do this kind of work,” said commissioner Josh Slotnick.

According to the county, it dedicates around $7.6 million in property taxes and gas taxes toward transportation needs. But county officials said they need an additional $4.3 million to fully fund infrastructure.

According to the county, it maintains 450 miles of roads and 47 miles of trails. It's home to 61 bridges over 20 feet long and 62 bridges less than 20 feet. In recent years, several bridges have been closed or have had weight limits reduced due to structural concerns.

“These are very expensive pieces of infrastructure that we don't have the ability to repair or replace,” Public Works Director Shane Stack said earlier this month. “If we were going to replace all of our deficient bridges, it would be in the neighborhood of $165 million. We should be spending $2.2 million a year on our bridges, and we're nowhere near that.”

While the county has yet to finalize its budget, it's expected to do so next month and has pledged to keep tax increases under the rate of inflation, or less than 3.%.

On Monday, the Missoula City Council adopted its budget, which includes a 5.8% tax increase , or 11% when the recent fire levy is added. It also adopted 2 emergency mills to fund homeless needs.

The county said it was the wrong time for it to push a levy for additional taxes.

“To ask people to voluntarily increase their taxes, even for something as necessary as roads and bridges, is a big ask,” Slotnick said. “Let's give the Legislature a chance to fix this before we do that.”

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