Commissioners Seek Public Comment on FY26 Budget
Posted on July 24, 2025
Following their preliminary budget hearing on July 24, the Missoula County commissioners are encouraging members of the public to review and provide feedback on the preliminary budget for fiscal year 2026. The public is encouraged to review the preliminary budget book and other documents and provide feedback online at missoulacountyvoice.com.
The preliminary, or base, budget represents the expenses and revenue the County needs to sustain current operations, the bulk of which pay for cost-of-living increases to staff wages and increases to medical insurance costs. An additional $5.76 million in property tax revenue is needed to fund the base budget. In addition to the base budget, the commissioners are considering new requests to improve services and operations.
These include one-time requests that must be paid for with savings from previous fiscal years so they do not impact property tax bills, as well as new requests to fund ongoing improvements, including new staff, that would require new property tax dollars. The preliminary budget book includes a detailed list of requests still under consideration. It also includes total revenues and expenses if all the new requests and capital improvement projects (CIPs) are approved, though it’s highly unlikely there will be enough revenue from property taxes available.
Residents are encouraged to review the requests and provide specific feedback on which ones should or should not be included in the final budget. The commissioners will make decisions about pending requests at their 10 a.m. administrative meetings on Aug. 12, 14, 19 and 21. They will hold a public hearing and vote on the final budget at 2 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 4.
Meeting agendas will be available online. After the state releases certified taxable values to the County the first week of August and the commissioners review and decide on potential budget requests, additional information about the impact to local property-tax payers will be provided on Missoula County Voice and during the final budget presentation.
In addition to commenting on the Missoula County Voice page, residents can comment on the budget during any public meeting, by leaving the commissioners a voicemail at 406-258-4877, emailing bcc@missoulacounty.us or mailing comments to the Commissioners’ Office, 200 W. Broadway St. Missoula, MT 59802. Residents can learn more about the taxes they pay to the County, City, schools and other agencies by viewing a pie chart breakdown for their property at itax.missoulacounty.us.
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