fbpx

City Managers Have Ballooned the Budget

By Beacon Staff

The mayor and city council of Kalispell are looking for another high paid city manager. Next year we will vote to retain the city manager or go back to a mayor form of government. This vote happens every 10 years, or you can vote on the form of government every year if you can get enough people to sign a petition. Since having a city manager starting 1992, the budget has gone up 10 times. In 1992 the city budget was $6 million with a mayor form of government and taxes were very low.

Since the people voted for a city manager form of government the town has grown to where we now have a $60 million budget per year when you add in the welfare from the federal government. Let’s look at the city manager position. He or she is a government employee in charge of the city government employees. The only way to sack the city manager is to have the city council vote on the matter. The people have no say in the matter, except eliminating the council members in the next election.

I think it would be a good idea to wait until after the next election.

Fred Hammel
Kalispell