The Flathead County Commission received a significant amount of protests against a proposed special-fee district that would pay for the 911 Emergency Communications Center, forcing the county to place the issue on a future election ballot if it wants approval of the new funding measure.
The commission had planned a Dec. 30 hearing to vote on the creation of the E-911 Special District, but County Administrator Mike Pence said a preliminary count showed there were enough protests from taxpayers to prohibit the commission from approving the measure without voter approval.
Earlier in the year, the county commissioners approved a resolution of intent showing they wanted to create the E-911 District, which was expected to bring in $1.9 million through a new tax placed on property and business owners.
Residential structures would be charged $25 – meaning one household, one $25 fee – and businesses would be charged on a sliding scale between $50 and $1,000.
When the commission voted on the resolution of intent, it started a 60-day protest period before any final decision could be made. The county also sent out 65,985 notices of assessment to property owners in Flathead County, discussing the initiative and what it would cost that taxpayer.
That protest period ended at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, and the preliminary results showed 10,390 people protested the assessment values totaled at $374,535. That represents nearly 19 percent of the sought $1.9 million, and triggers stopgap in the process.
If the protested amount had equaled less than 10 percent of the assessment value – or $199,199.73 – the commission would have had legal authority to move forward with creating the district. Pence said that if the protests are confirmed to exceed the 10 percent stopgap, the commission would be required to put the proposed fee district on a future election ballot for the voters to decide.
If the confirmation process finds that the protested value exceeds 50 percent, the commission would have to wait at least one year before considering the formation of the district again.
When the 911 Center was voted into existence and built in 2009, the levied funds were used for construction. Initially, a future-funding committee was supposed to devise a method of long-term funding for the center, which survives now on county mills and contributions from each city’s budget.
The special-fee district, which is supported by the three cities in the county and by emergency responders, was proposed as a way to establish future funding without taxing city residents twice. As funding stands now, each city contributes from its general fund, and the county contributes mills, meaning residents paying city taxes and county taxes are essentially paying twice, district proponents said.
The E-911 District was on the November ballot in 2014. The ballot measure failed by 10 votes.