Leigh Griffing, Finance Director, opens with an introduction to the Fiscal Year 2026 budget season and overview of the department presentation schedule.
Police Department Presentation
Michael Colyer, Missoula Police Chief, provides his budget presentation for the Police Department and advises he has scaled back budget requests this year. He provides an overview his budget requests relating to BID and Special Resource Officers (SRO), crime statistics, drone usage and new technology, Special Teams and local incidents resulting in non-lethal contact, employee wellness, and digital forensics. See presentation slides and video for further detail.
President Sherrill asks clarification questions about the budget requests and noted she appreciates 911 At Ease. She asks if our Special Teams would go into a school or public space after an active shooter?
Chief Colyer advises eventually the SWAT team will show up, but the first responders will be those already on the scene.
President Sherrill asks if are we doing any training with SROs on how to best to respond to an active shooter?
Chief Colyer advises they do in house training and monthly training as well as Active Attack Integrated Response (AAIR) which is a collaborative training with multiple departments.
Councilor Becerra requested the presentation be linked to the agenda.
Councilor Savage shared she has kids in school did not fully appreciate how scary it is when there is an active shooter in the school, echos support for mental health for officers
Kari Dady, Administrator for Municipal Court, asks if Chief Colyer if we have any information on the cost of sending prisoners out of state.
President Sherrill advises Ms. Dady we are currently focusing on budget related items, to send her question via email and a response will be sent out later.
Public Comment
Greg Timmons gave comment that his wife was downtown a few weeks ago and a group of men surrounded her. One of them moved towards her, she pushed him away got into a business and called 911. He supports the downtown police officer program, and credits police presence with the outcome of his wife's experience.
2 Minute Break
Fire Department Presentation
Phillip Keating, Missoula Fire Department Assistant Chief, opens up budget presentation provides introductions and a round of applause for retiring Chief Gordy Hughes. He discusses guiding principles, technology changes, mission and vision, station locations, infrastructure, call volume, staff salaries, and advises the department intends to hire a data analyst this year. He discusses the benefits of community response via the Pulse Point cell phone application.
John Petroff, Assistant Chief of Missoula Fire Department, current facilities expansion, grant funding, core equipment replacements, statistics on calls, and temporary living spaces.
See presentation slides and full video for further detail.
Councilor Jones asks if there is any overlap in grant funding to cover the items discussed.
Assistant Chief Keating advises there is no overlap, and each grant is for specific items.
Councilor Becerra asks what the total request from the Fire Department is, and where the levy come in.
Assistant Chief Keating advises the total request is close to $2 million, and the levy will cover some of the requests.
Chief Hughes advises the ask covers the life of the item, what the levy covers, the full-time employee (FTE) request may not apply to levy dollars.
Leigh Griffing advises the ask is a little over $321,000, with the data analyst being requested being funded from the levy.
Councilor Becerra requests a breakdown of the request for the sake of transparency and clarity.
President Sherrill requests the breakdown be sent out to all of Council.
Councilor Campbell asks if we need to be all in for the engine 100% up front or if there are options to extend the timeframe.
Assistant Chief Keating clarifies there is a reduced price for paying upfront.
Councilor Farmer clarifies the capital improvement request CIP request details and asks if the Station 6 timeline is a couple of years.
Assistant Chief Keating advises it will take 2-3 years to complete.
Break Until 10:45
Parking Commission Presentation
Jodi Pilgram, Director of Missoula Parking Commission (MPC), introduces the mission of the Parking Commission. MPC is an enterprise fund that does not require money from the general fund. She discusses the FY26 Budget Revenue, learning opportunities for the public, fine increases, baseline expenses/increases/decreases, revenue, FY26 debt coverage ratio, Park Place Garage Bond will be paid off in 2035, FY26 new requests - extending FTE hours for Specialist 1, LPR unit for scooters, and a new maintenance trailer. Total Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) request $3,613,455.00. See presentation video for slides and further detail.
Councilor Campbell asks about the LPR System and if it is a camera system.
Ms. Pilgram explains how LPR works for lessees and transient workers and that it is a camera system.
Councilor Campbell follows up and inquires how the alert system works.
Ms. Pilgram explains how the system works and there are multiple set ups to choose from.