BILLINGS CITY COUNCIL BULLETIN // may.6.2024 | |
// CITY OF BILLINGS BUDGET DOUBLE-HEADER!! | |
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Monday night kicks off City Council's FY2025 budget discussions. Real snoozer, right? Wrong! The establishment of the city budget is one of the most important policy decisions the City Council will make all year. How should the city spend your money—taxpayers' $473.7 million? Should it go toward streets, safety, sewer, sidewalks, swimming, or CPTED?
Of course, that's not all the city needs to fund. As far as identified priorities go, the proposal before city council plans to address the following priority areas:
- Improve the safety of Billings ($64.7 million)
- Invest in core infrastructure ($159.1 million)
- Increase parks, trails, recreation ($7.8 million)
The General Fund, which provides funding for police, fire, administrative, and finance departments (among others), appropriates $84 million of the almost half a billion dollar budget—the vast majority of which goes to our police and fire departments.
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Tomorrow night, the Billings Police Department (BPD) will present its budget proposal of $33.5 million with most of the funding, almost $26 million, going to salaries and benefits for staff. The budget presentation also includes a schedule for increasing officers over the next 5 years, starting by adding 4 FTEs in FY2025, 3 sworn officers and a Community Service Officer capable of processing crime scenes, taking statements, and filing reports. The four additions take the authorized total staffing of Billings Police Department to 168 sworn officers, 41 support personnel, and seven animal control employees. | |
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The additional personnel will help to build on the success of the Billings Police Department which made significant strides addressing Billings public safety in 2023. The BPD Annual Report shows declines in seven important categories of crime, from violent crimes to theft and drug offenses. Additionally, BPD Detectives closed 10 of the 13 homicide cases and continue to work on the three remaining cases with suspects identified.
Public safety remains our members's biggest concern, and we are incredibly grateful to the Billings Police Department for their hard work to bring crime down. We are also grateful to Billings voters who helped pay for more public safety resources in recent years by voting to increase their property taxes.
The charts below help tell the story of how your tax dollars have benefited Billings.
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There is much to celebrate regarding how Billings has addressed public safety, yet much remains to be done. City Council recently received a Criminal Justice System Efficiency & Court Expansion Study outlining recommendations to improve the municipal court system. The partnership with the County on a 72-hour arraignment hold needs to be seen through to completion. Talk continues on a Family Justice Center that will likely need city resources. And there's continual opportunity to make CPTED investments in city properties, ensuring the city is leading the way by making their own properties as safe and inviting as possible.
With back-to-back work session meetings this week, we've included both agendas and links to the department budget presentations below. Even if you don't plan on tuning in, you can see how the City of Billings is planning to spend your tax dollars. We also encourage you to reach out to your councilmembers to let them know what you want prioritized. The budget won't be finalized until June, but it's important that City Council hears from you in the beginning stages of their budget development.
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// WORK SESSION AGENDA (MON) - 5:30 p.m. - BILLINGS CITY HALL | |
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In this section, we will include the meeting agenda for you to view. Clicking on the items will take you to more information. No need to read it all, but if something catches your eye, be sure to check it out.
CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Cole
PUBLIC COMMENT ON ALL ITEMS. Comments are limited to three (3) minutes during each public comment period or as set by the Mayor.
1. FY2025 Budget Overview.
-Public Comment Click to View
2. FY2025 Departmental Budget Presentations.
-Public Comment Click to View
3. Highlight Upcoming Agenda Items of Council Interest.
-Public Comment
COUNCIL DISCUSSION:
PUBLIC COMMENT on “NON-AGENDA ITEMS”. Restricted to ONLY items not on this printed agenda. Comments are limited to 3 minutes or as set by the Mayor.
ADJOURN:
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// WORK SESSION AGENDA (TUE) - 5:30 p.m. - BILLINGS CITY HALL | |
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In this section, we will include the meeting agenda for you to view. Clicking on the items will take you to more information. No need to read it all, but if something catches your eye, be sure to check it out.
CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Cole
PUBLIC COMMENT ON ALL ITEMS. Comments are limited to three (3) minutes during each public comment period or as set by the Mayor.
1. FY2025 Departmental Budget Presentations.
-Public Comment Click to View
2. Highlight Upcoming Agenda Items of Council Interest.
-Public Comment
COUNCIL DISCUSSION:
PUBLIC COMMENT on “NON-AGENDA ITEMS”. Comments are limited to 3 minutes or as set by the Mayor.
ADJOURN:
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// WATCH THE MEETING ON COMMUNITY 7 TELEVISION | |
// CITY ADMINISTRATOR WEEKLY REPORT | |
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City Administrator Chris Kukulski began the routine of sending a weekly report every Friday to City Council and department heads with the intent to, "communicate the highlights of the past week and any critical issues coming up." The most recent CA Report includes updates on:
- MET Transit ridership update
- New City Hall construction update
- And much more...
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// GET MORE INVOLVED IN YOUR COMMUNITY | |
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Below are some additional public meetings being held this week, along with information about when and where to attend, and what's on the agenda (if one is available).
Tuesday, May 7th
City Zoning Commission
4:30 - 6:00 pm @ Miller Bldg, 1st Floor Conf. 2825 3rd Ave N.
Agenda here
City Council Work Session (Budget Only)
5:30 - 9:30 pm @ Billings City Hall, 210 N. 27th St.
Agenda here
South Billings Urban Renewal Association
7:00 - 8:00 pm @ Billings Hotel & Convention Center, 1223 Mullowney Ln.
Wednesday, May 8th
Parks, Recreation, and Public Land (PRC) Board Meeting
11:00 - 1:00 pm @ Parks & Rec Offices, 390 N. 23rd St.
City Council Legislative & Local Affairs Committee
4:00 - 5:00 pm @ City Hall, 1st Floor Conf. 210 N. 27th St.
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(Your email will be publicly available, similar to those you can read by clicking the button above.) | |
// BOARD & COMMISSION OPENINGS | |
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"It takes a little time and commitment, but it's incredibly rewarding to give back to our community which has given us so much."
-- Greg McCall, Zoning Commission and Owner, McCall Homes
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The Mayor's Office is accepting letters of interest to fill the vacancies listed on the city website. For more information on each specific board, visit the city website. City Boards and Commissions are appointed by the Mayor, confirmed by City Council, are advisory only, and members serve without compensation.
Submit applications to: Mayor's Office, PO Box 1178, Billings, MT 59103-1178 NO LATER THAN APRIL 1st .*
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BOARD OPENING (SEATS)
Human Relations Commission (2)
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REQUIREMENTS
Must live in Billings
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* - this has not been updated on the city website. | |
Generally, we want to fill this space with substantive items of interest, related to our membership priorities of safety, workforce, and tax reform efforts. But let's face it, we're on the internet and can't help ourselves when it comes to cute kittens. Especially when the cute, snuggly, fuzzy, cuddly nuggets are part of a program partnership between our city library and Yellowstone Valley Animal Shelter for kids ranging from pre-K to 3rd grade. | |
// ADDITIONAL BILLINGS CHAMBER RESOURCES | |
// BUSINESS ADVOCACY SPONSORS | |
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Please don't hesitate to reach out to the Billings Chamber's Business Advocacy Director, Dan Brooks with questions, comments, or to chat about the City Council.
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Billings Chamber of Commerce | Website
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