A recent survey of over 120 members of the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce showed strong support for giving municipal government the authority to implement a local option sales tax if it were approved by voters.
The Kalispell Chamber last week released the results of a member survey of issues poised to surface during the upcoming state Legislature. A total of 121 members responded to the three-question survey.
The results showed that 73 percent believe local governments should have the authority to implement a local tax option, if approved by voters. City officials in Kalispell have recently brought up the possibility of asking voters to approve a resort or local option tax that would create a new funding source for local transportation and infrastructure needs. The fundamental idea behind resort taxes is to allow places with high numbers of visitors but relatively few residents to manage the wear-and-tear on local infrastructure without overburdening local citizens.
Currently, state law only allows communities with a population under 5,500 to implement a resort or local option tax.
The 2009 Legislature considered a bill to adjust the upper threshold population level requirement for resort communities. The Legislature did not change the upper population limit but revised the law to consider the population at the time of the most recent federal census instead of the federal population estimates produced annually.
The Kalispell Chamber polled members about funding for Early Edge Montana, a public pre-school for 4 year olds, and 52 percent were not supportive. Gov. Steve Bullock has asked the upcoming Legislature for $37 million to fund the new pre-school programs across the state.
Seventy-one percent of Kalispell Chamber members supported using cash and bonds to invest in infrastructure development, such as water, sewer, roads and bridges. Bullock has also identified infrastructure investment as a priority in 2015.
“The survey results demonstrate what Kalispell’s community believes must be done to develop a stronger economy,” said Joe Unterreiner, president of the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce.
Correction (12/30): A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that 52 percent of Chamber members were supportive of state funding for public pre-schools.