Kalispell City Council Approves First Pay Raise in 30 Years
Councilors also approved a 95-home mixed-income residential development off Northland Drive proposed by Habitat for Humanity and private developers
By Zoë Buhrmaster
Kalispell city councilors on Monday broached a topic they have avoided over the past 30 years: raising the mayor and councilors’ salaries. Council members are considered permanent part-time employees to account for the time they put into reading hundreds of pages of agendas prior to sitting in on weekly council meetings and work sessions. Despite the hours, councilors have not considered adjusting their salary since 1997, when salaries were in fact lowered, save a stipend added in 2004 to cover costs associated with the position.
A resolution before council Monday night aligned council’s budget pay with current market conditions, adding the council’s current annual pay – roughly $9,000 for the mayor and $5,000 per councilor – to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation calculator. Based on that, the proposal boosted the mayor to $18,664 and $10,369 per councilor.
“Had council been doing a small incremental adjustment along CPI and what the staff was doing, we wouldn’t have a 108% headline that makes this a self-dealing perception,” Councilor Dustin Leftridge said. “We either do something to fix this or we decide this is an unpaid position and only those privileged individuals are able to participate.”
Councilors Sid Daoud and Sam Nunnally, who have served for multiple terms on the council, both spoke out against the resolution, each putting forward amendments sidestepping the salary boost. Both amendments failed.
Other councilors noted that due to the amount of time councilors spend reviewing council documents and attending meetings, the resulting pay would still be “less than a McDonald’s worker” and still prioritize public service.
“No one’s going to get rich off this,” Councilor Wes Walker said.
Councilors approved the resolution with an amendment from Leftridge to split the salary increase over the next two fiscal years. Councilors will see 50% of the increase this year and the other half the following year, with a subsequent annual cap of 3% CPI from then on.
Councilors also approved the annexation, initial zoning and Planned Unit Development (PUD) for a mixed-income, ownership-only housing project proposed by Habitat for Humanity and private developers. The Birchwood PUD is a large 95-home residential complex and will have a mix of single-family homes, cottage homes, and townhomes. The 21-acre parcel of land is situated between Northland Drive and the U.S. Highway 93 Alternative, south of Four Mile Drive, and Habitat for Humanity bought the property from the Montana Department of Transportation last year.
The development included several deviations, including the absence of an east-to-west connection, reduced minimum lot sizes and widths, and some home access via alleyways, which city planners said were all supported by the site design.
Monday night’s council discussion centered on the property’s proposed access points, with one on the south and one at the southeast corner. Several local residents said they were in favor of the mixed housing unit, but were concerned about an impact on traffic in an area with few existing sidewalks and already busy roads.
The city’s Director of Development Services PJ Sorensen noted the development is “well over the required access” to meet fire and EMS evacuation standards.
Habitat’s Executive Director MaryBeth Morand said they are currently in communication with the property owner to the north of the development to discuss a possible construction easement for Birchwood to have direct access to Four Mile Drive.
“We realize that yes, there may be a one second delay in traffic,” Morand said, quoting an impact traffic study reviewed by both the city’s public works and a third party. “But I appeal to the greater good as you consider this.”