Tax increment financing, TIF, freezes the taxable value of property in a district at a base year. Taxes on value above that base — the increment — go into a district fund and are spent on improvements within the district rather than distributed to the general taxing jurisdictions.
Great Falls has five districts:
An applicant asks the City to spend district funds on a project. Staff bring a resolution, the CityCommission sets a public hearing, the hearing is held and the Commission votes. The record for 2025-2026 includes requests from the PublicWorksDepartment itself for infrastructure and signage, from the Downtown Development Partnership, from Clearwater Federal Credit Union, and from the airport.
Not all pass easily. Resolution 10603, allowing the City to use up to an additional $382,690 in Downtown district funds, carried 3-2 at CityCommission2025-10-07 with Commissioners McKenney? and Wilson dissenting.
Senate Bill 3 of the 2025 legislature amended MCA 7-15-4234 and 7-15-4282 to require any municipality using TIF to have a formally appointed adisory committee. Great Falls answered by consolidating all five districts under one body — see SuperTifAdvisoryCommittee.
Districts also issue bonds against the increment; see JanickiIndustriesProject for the largest recent example — $3,800,000 authorised by Resolution 10628 and $2,845,000 sold under Resolution 10650.
The governing plan for a district can also be rewritten. The Downtown district's was, in 2026, by Ordinance3286.
Tax Increment Financing: https://greatfallsmt.gov/1118/Tax-Increment-Financing-TIF Super TIF committee: https://greatfallsmt.gov/1128/Super-Tax-Increment-Financing-TIF-Adviso