City staff walked City Commissioners through the basic mechanics of the budget during a special meeting on May 9. City Manager Greg Doyon had initially planned to do full presentations from each department, a format for budget development the city used years ago, but scheduling issues caused that plan to morph into a video briefing with information from the departments
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Updated 2 p.m. April 8 The city is moving forward with about $10 million worth of projects using a portion of its allocation of American Rescue Plan Act funds. The city received $19.47 million of the federal COVID relief funds and has been discussing how to use those funds since last May and during their April 5 work session, City
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During the next two City Commission meetings, officials will discuss a proposal to increase trash pickup fees. Officials will discuss the proposal, as well as the current program, costs, needs and other details during their April 5 work session and commissioners will be asked during their regular meeting that night to set a public hearing on the proposal for April
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City Commissioners unanimously approved a new fine structure for violations of the new rules for parking recreational vehicles, utility tractors or boats in residential areas. The new rules and fees went into effect March 15. There was no public comment on the fees. In October, the commission voted 4-1 to approve a new ordinance that prohibits the parking of those
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Several city funds lost revenue due to COVID and city staff are recommending to use some of the city’s federal relief dollars to replenish those funds. The funds that lost revenue are enterprise funds, meaning they rely primarily on fees from services, and the services and programs they offer were cut during the pandemic. City conducts quarterly budget review; plans
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Last week, City Commissioners again reviewed recommendations made by the crime task force but took no action. During their Feb. 1 work session, staff walked commissioners through some of the recommendations the task force made last fall. This time, Great Falls Police Chief Jeff Newton had grouped the recommendations by items that could be accomplished within the existing budget, items
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City Commissioners reviewed the budget and the crime task force recommendations during their Feb. 1 work session. Melissa Kinzler, finance director, and Kirsten Myre, deputy finance director, walked commissioners through their quarterly budget review. Revenues were higher in fiscal year 2020, which ran from July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2020 since the federal CARES Act funds came in as
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The City Commission voted 4-1 to reappoint Amanda Ball to the city-county Board of Health during their Dec. 21 meeting. The appointment came after at least a half hour of discussion and confusion over the city’s process for making board appointments. Ball was appointed in 2019 to serve the remainder of a term through Dec. 31, 2021. She is eligible
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During their Dec. 21 meeting, City Commissioners will consider whether to accept a federal grant toward hiring three entry level police officers. The City of Great Falls was awarded a U.S. Department of Justice COPS Hiring Grant for $375,000, which will cover 38 percent of the total cost of hiring those three officers, according to the city. The grant requires
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City Commissioners unanimously approved a contract to Swank Enterprises for $17.9 million for the base bid and $354,000 for a slide in the leisure pool for a total contract of $18.34 million for the new indoor aquatic and recreation center. Coupled with the $1.8 million already spent on design and engineering puts the project about $470,000 over the $20 million budget.
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