Martin Kidston
(Missoula Current) When voters go to the polls in November, they will be asked to raise up to five per thousand to fund the maintenance and repair of Missoula County’s roads and bridges, as well as other infrastructure needs.
The measure would raise about $1.7 million a year and help make up for the lack of available funds for infrastructure, as county officials described it. For a home with an assessed value of $500,000, the proposal would cost about $33 a year.
“We should be spending about $4.3 million a year on roads and bridges, but right now we’re only spending about $600,000,” said Shane Stack, director of the Department of Public Works. “There’s a huge gap. We need more money, and if we don’t, we’re going to see more bridges closed and more roads filled with potholes. We just won’t be able to keep up.”
According to the county, 450 miles of roads and 47 miles of trails are maintained. There are 61 bridges over 20 feet long and 62 bridges under 20 feet long. In recent years, several bridges have been closed or have had their weight limits reduced due to structural concerns.
“These are very expensive pieces of infrastructure that we cannot repair or replace,” Stack said. “If we were to replace all of our failing bridges, the cost would be about $165 million. We would have to spend $2.2 million a year on our bridges, but we are far from that.”
The requested tax is the second one proposed by a local government this year to fund essential services that officials say are beyond the reach of their current budget. Both the city and county said rising costs and the state’s outdated tax formula have made it impossible for them to raise the revenue needed to provide such services.
In June, voters approved a measure that would allow the city to raise up to 34 mills to generate $7 million annually for the Missoula Fire Department. Combined with the city’s proposed FY25 budget, the tax increase rises to about 11%, or about $307 per year for a city home with an assessed value of $450,000.
The county budget calls for a tax increase of less than 3.4 percent, but taxes for roads and bridges would be added to that increase. County officials said they are very conscious of the ongoing tax increases for local property owners.
“We’ve really been looking over the last few years and during the legislative session for ways to fund infrastructure without resorting to property taxes,” said Chris Lounsbury, the county’s CAO. “We all recognize that property taxes are higher than we would like, and the property tax shift in favor of the residential population has had a real impact.”
Failed efforts to finance infrastructure needs
To fund infrastructure, local voters passed a $0.02 per gallon gasoline tax in 2020, but the legislature quickly repealed it. Last session, the legislature passed a bill with strong support to fund local infrastructure with a portion of marijuana taxes, but Governor Greg Gianforte vetoed the bill.
More recently, several counties have urged the Governor’s Property Tax Working Group to consider some form of local option tax earmarked exclusively for infrastructure and property tax relief, but the proposal was not included in the working group’s recommendations.
The state’s unwillingness to use spending from the millions of tourists who come to Montana each year to provide property tax relief and fund local needs has caused frustration among officials.
“That leaves us with only one tool, which is to ask voters to approve additional funds for public works through property taxes,” Lounsbury said. “If voters approve this levy, it would be specifically earmarked for the construction, repair and maintenance of the county’s roads, bridges and trails.”
Commissioners agreed that the state’s over-reliance on property taxes to fund local governments – while cutting business and industrial taxes – has created a budget crisis not only in Missoula but elsewhere.
“We are nowhere near being able to carry out the maintenance work that is required,” said Commissioner Juanita Vero. “I see no other way. It will only get worse.”
