Diff of LibraryMillLevy r1

Revision 1, 2025-08-29T10:52:00Z, by CivicCenter206.
+ = Library mill levy =
+ The [[GreatFallsPublicLibrary]] is funded by a mill levy whose maximum is fixed in the City Charter. In 2025 a change in state law forced the [[CityCommission]] to recalculate that cap.
+ = What happened =
+ On '''May 13, 2025''' the Governor signed '''House Bill 231''' and '''Senate Bill 542'''. A side effect was a decrease in mill value for 2026 and beyond. In communities like Great Falls with voted or charter-authorised fixed mill limits, a reduced mill value would have meant a significant revenue shortfall beginning in fiscal year 2026.
+ To offset that, the tax bills required taxing jurisdictions to rebalance by resetting their fixed mill limits. For voted levies there was an option to convert to a dollar-based levy. For '''charter-authorised''' levies with fixed limits, the mechanism is Section 7(3) of HB 231, and that is the provision that applies to the library mills: the City must levy in fiscal year 2026 the number of mills necessary to raise the same property tax revenue for the library that was assessed in fiscal year 2025, and that recalculated number becomes the new maximum under the Charter going forward.
+ Effectively the statute authorised a '''one-time recalibration''' of the mill cap to hold revenue steady, without a charter amendment and without a vote.
+ = The number =
+ From the certified mill value for fiscal year 2026, the recalibrated cap is '''19.55 mills''', generating '''$2,246,354'''.
+ '''Resolution 10599''' updated the Charter's stated mill limit accordingly. It was adopted at [[CityCommission2025-08-19]], '''carried 4-1''' with Commissioner Tryon dissenting, immediately before [[Resolution10582]], the annual tax levy.
+ Under an earlier City-library management agreement, 3.5 mills had been released; those were later proposed as the debt service source for the [[FireTrainingCenter]] renovation.
+ ----
+ Minutes, August 19, 2025: https://greatfallsmt.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_08192025-244
+ [[GreatFallsPublicLibrary]] · [[AnnualTaxLevy]] · [[Categories]]
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