BOZEMAN – The proposed FY19 proposed budget for the city is the largest amount to date.
City Manager Andrea Surrat is recommending the city spends around $111 million dollars. Surratt said the increase of about $4 million for this year comes from population growth.
“It correlates with growth. We add roughly 1,800 per year over the past four years, at least, and looking back further the growth has just continued. So it is significant when we think about the services that need to be provided to that growing population. It just takes more of us to serve more of Bozeman,” said Surratt.
Surratt presented the budget last week but now Mayor Cyndy Andrus and city commissioners will dissect and analyze the different pieces of the budget for the next month. The first section being discussed is the Special Revenue fund which includes: street maintenance, arterial and collector district, street impact fee, tree maintenance (forestry), building inspections, and workforce housing.
The proposed budget has both the forestry and the street maintenance costs increasing by about 5 percent.
“Those funds relate to our TIFS, our Tax Increment Financing Districts, and those are special designated areas that collect tax dollars due to new development, and those tax dollars are put back into that specific geographic area to help it improve,” said Surratt.
If everything in the current proposed budget is approved, the average homeowner would pay around five extra dollars in property taxes and fees. The final hearing for next year’s budget is scheduled for June 25th.
