President Jones Under committee reports, just for clarification’s sake, although the minutes are posted there from committee meetings, those are approved within the following committee the following week or two whenever that comes next in front of the committee. We do have one item in front of the under committee reports and that is Resolution Requesting Missoula County refer a Crisis Services Levy to Missoula County Voters. We did hear this in committee and there were quite a few people who presented on it and commented. At this point, are there any further questions from Council? I’m not sure if we have staff available, we're a little bit after the fact since I believe the County Commissioners have already voted on this and this is a, a resolution in support of that but if there's any questions from Council we can try and get them answered. Seeing no questions from Council, we will go to a motion and Mr. Hess, you’re the man of the hour.
Alderperson Hess I move that we adopt a resolution requesting the Missoula County Commission adopt a resolution and referral to the people of Missoula County for authorization of a crisis services levy to pay costs of services to support people experiencing mental health, addiction, or housing crisis, and to facilitate criminal justice reforms.
President Jones Thank you. We will go to public comment on the motion and thank you for pulling that up Marty. Okay anyone in the chambers that wants to provide public comment on this item? Seeing none, we will go to our virtual attendees Mr. Hunt, you should be able to unmute yourself.
Kevin Hunt Thank you very much madame Council President. My name is Kevin Hunt, I reside in Ward 1 in the Rattlesnake. The first thing I, I want everyone to understand is I strongly support all of these crisis services, in particular the mobile crisis unit which has turned out to be a, a great success and which is going to save the city a lot of money actually and so I hope my remarks aren't construed as being in opposition to any of that. The, I. I believe that you should not be endorsing what the County Commission is doing. I do not believe it's creative I and I think it's gonna just add to another crisis that we have going in Missoula and Missoula County which is the oppressive, non-progressive, property tax rates which are greatly stressing out and causing much housing insecurity for the elderly, the disabled, the retired, and other long-times and fixed-income Missoula homeowners and of course these increases are always passed along to the renters in Missoula and as I know, I’m sure all of you know 51% of our population rents. And I believe too, if I recall my data correctly, 2/3 of them are cost burdened and 1/3 are struggling on less than $25,000.00 a year and cannot afford a dime more. So, I think this is not a creative solution. There must be another means of doing this found and what whether you pass this resolution or not has no effect on whether the County Commissioners actually place this on the ballot before the voters. You could, you could simply be neutral and, and that's, that's what I ask that you do. My, my real concern is, is a is a conservative backlash that comes out of this and, and, and foments a movement to for ballot measures to place proposition 13 type caps and things like that and I, I just think that this is not a wise decision for a variety of reasons including those long-term reasons. I think that the, the county and the city needs to have a joint committee that, that explores and comes up with a more creative solution. I don't know if this is legal but once if it's, if it's permissible as a local option sales tax, I’d like to see a 1% tax on all house sales in Missoula that are at or above a certain price point. That price point to be determined by local and national economic indicators. I’m tired of this non-progressive oppression of the working people of this town and the people who are barely making it and it seems to be benefiting primarily the wealthiest. It’s time they paid their fair share and I guess that's all I have to say, but again I do support what this is for. I totally understand it if people on the Council that I very much respect go ahead and vote for it, I understand why, that's fine but all I can say is let's just wait and see how that works out for everybody. Thank you.
President Jones Thank you. Any other public comment on this item? Okay seeing none, any comments from Council on this motion on the crisis services levy? Ms. West and then Mr. Nugent.
Alderperson West So, I think when we have the opportunity to put something on a ballot and pose it or give our citizens the opportunity to vote, I think we should do that. I think it is a neutral position and that it allows everyone to engage on this subject and it is obviously a very important subject that affects many people, so I’ll leave it at that.
President Jones Thank you. Mr. Nugent.
Alderperson Mike Nugent Thank you madam president. I, I think this is a very intensely personal issue for a lot of people, in that almost everybody I’ve talked about the issues of houselessness in Missoula have slightly different takes, a lot of them are nuanced. People are very passionate all across the board and I, I agree. I think this is an opportunity for the community of Missoula to tell us if this is a priority or if it's not and I think that as we've been hearing people talk about the need for this, there's a lot of good being done in programs that are currently funded by ARPA and other federal dollars that if we don't find a funding source, they will go away and you know I respect the public commenters thoughts, but we, we as a Council can't do funding mechanisms that aren't granted to us by state law. We do not have the option to do a local option sales tax, that is not something a power given to a local government, that's something that we would need to take up with the State Legislature and frankly, the State Constitution bans transfer taxes that was a public amendment about 20 years ago. So, I think that I understand the need for creativity and I, I think that we all would agree with that but as far as the creative ways that the city or the county can come up with to fund important programs, we really don't have it. Like, we are very limited in what we could do, and we are very sensitive to the, the, the expense that the property tax can put on people and that's why I think this all needs to be thought out and I think it's important to go to the community and ask is this a priority. You know some of the programs that we talk about the, the temporary safe outdoor space, almost 50% of the residents who have gone through the temporary safe outdoor space have either found permanent housing or have been reunited with family members that have been moved to housing that's not on the street or in a park or in a public domain somewhere. I mean that's a success point, one out of every two, that's making a difference in our community. The mobile support team, to me, is one of the best things this community's done in the last several years, responding to people in need and trying to take pressure off of both our police department and our fire department are huge positives, and over 65% of the people that, that program responds to are not houseless, they are, they are average, everyday residents who are struggling and, and we've created a program that really makes a difference. The reality is that the city and the county, cities and counties across the country and across the state have been asked to fill the gaps in, in areas that the federal government has let us down and the state government has let us down. And I know people get sick of us bringing that up, but our realities don't change like the this is, the, the system we're in. This is where revenue that supports local government comes from, so that's what we have in front of us. If people really want to change it, they need to go to the state legislature, talk to their representatives, talk to other representatives from other communities, and explain why this is important and why this stuff matters. I think how the residents of Missoula decide to, to pay their hard-earned tax dollars is an illustration of the community's priorities. The Mayor likes to say that in, in when he's talking about the budget, and I think it's very true here too and I think it's an opportunity for all of us to know where our community stands on this and I fully support putting this out to the voters.
President Jones Thank you. Ms. Vasecka.
Alderperson Vasecka Thanks. So, I, I agree with a lot of what my colleagues on Council have said because these are really important programs, I do believe that. I know that a lot of my colleagues on Council have seen, seen what has gone in with our houseless folks. I’m just going to call out my wardmate Kristen because her and I have done a lot of these things together. We went to do the, the reserve by Reserve Street Bridge cleanup together. We have toured the, the authorized camping site together. We have a lot of constituents that are, are facing houselessness and I do agree with, that these programs are necessary. I don't believe that putting this to the voters is the last, I, I think that putting it these this option to the voters is the last resort and I don't think that we are actually at the last resort yet. I agree with the public commenter, Mr. Hunt, saying that this is, this isn't very creative. I believe that we can actually find funding in our budget that would be important enough that we could switch some pet projects around and put those on the back burner and actually fund these programs. I do believe that if, if we were going to put everything that we thought was important to the voters and I think we should put the budget for the voters and see what they thought was the most important part or if this was important that we should be finding it with a levy. So, I just, I don't think that sorry, I think that using ARPA funds for this at the beginning to have a one-time funding source for this was kind of a bait-and-switch for the constituents, saying these are great programs, look how great they are and then taking them away because it was one-time funding for it, which I also believe that it was kind of inappropriate usage of ARPA funding in the beginning because APRA funding was basically for COVID, and this houselessness problem has been going on for years and years and years. So, with that, I, I, I cannot support adding an additional tax to our constituents because with the supply chain issues, increasing property taxes, increasing prices on groceries and gas, it's just, it's hard for, it's hard for everyone, everyone that's staying in their house, everyone that's renting, it's….I can't support the resolution to support putting this on the ballot, so I will not be in favor of this.
President Jones Thank you. I’m going to go to Ms. Jordan and then to Mr. Hess.
Alderperson Kristen Jordan Thank you. I think everyone knows that this is a really important service to me. I played a key role in organizing the initial funding for the mobile crisis team. I played a key role in setting up all the metrics to ensure that this was a bang for buck program. I really enjoyed getting to know folks from the police department and the fire department when we set this program up. I’m, I agree with a lot of what's been said. I don't think that this is creative funding and I think that you know democracy covers a lot of different things and not just this budget. I am pro-police; however, when we get a budget from them that includes a $400,000.00 other category that can't be broken down, I find myself really frustrated that we have this bang for buck program that everybody loves, that is saving us a ton of money, seeing them come ask for alternative funding sources is really frustrating to me. The science is behind this program, it deserves to be hard funded, and I think that this is another case to be made for zero balanced budgeting. And for all of our staff and elected folks who are listening to this, I, I support the work. I just think that we need to do things a little differently to make sure that these amazing programs like this don't have to ask for money like this. I’m disappointed; I’m going to vote for this because I support the program and I support our County Commissioners, but we do have to get more creative about where we find money to pay for programs that are proven effective and that's the end of my comment.
President Jones Thank you. Mr. Hess.
Alderperson Hess Thanks. This issue highlights the dysfunction of our tax code in the State of Montana, some of our comments that we've heard from Council and members of the public really highlights that we are working on a tax, with a tax code that was that was developed decades ago for an economy that doesn't exist anymore and it's really like, like, Mr. Nugent said, we, we continue to say it and it continues to be true and so we have to continue to say it and, and I think we are given lots of opportunities to talk about how dysfunctional and regressive our, our property tax-based system is in the State of Montana. Unfortunately, it's what we've got. I, so I’m gonna, I’m gonna support and also I, I in general I support putting things out to the voters and that's what we're doing here. We're asking the voters if they value these programs and, and these programs came about largely as a function of some of the challenges that were exacerbated during the pandemic and were funded with, with pandemic relief money. As many people have said, we've come to see how critical these programs are to our community and I, I hope that we're able to sustain them. I do want to say that I think the executive budget as a function of the Mayor and the chief administrative officer, and the department heads is an exercise in creative thinking. It is an exercise that is many months in the in development and I sometimes bristle that the idea that we're not that the idea that we need to think creatively is you is a euphemism for, for cutting something and I mean we hear we hear pet projects as a term that's thrown around and to me police and parks and streets and the nuts and bolts of government are not pet projects. I believe that the City of Missoula operates efficiently, that it operates effectively, and that it operates on a lean margin, and I believe that we are working in a dysfunctional revenue environment in the State of Montana and that's why we're in this position. I don't think it has anything to do with a lack of creative thinking, so I’m happy to support this and I, I am also troubled that we have to go this route in order to sustain these important programs but it's the reality we have.
President Jones Thank you. Oh, down at this end…All right, we’ll go with Ms. Sherrill and then Ms. Vasecka.
Alderperson Sherrill Yeah thanks and I appreciate all of my colleagues’ comments. I, I think that it's an important issue and I’m glad that everyone is thinking it through and I’m happy that we have the opportunity as City Council to weigh in on this even though the, the County Commissioners have already voted to put it on the ballot. You know, unfortunately, COVID exacerbated a problem that was already happening. During COVID there were some estimates, I remember reading an article saying that there that they anticipated up to 40, a 40% increase in our homelessness around the country. I mean 40 %, I remember years ago reading an article that L.A. had a 14% increase in their homelessness population, and they were an in an absolute panic. They were seeing diseases coming back that they hadn't seen for a long time because of the sanitation in some of the homeless camps and that is not any way for any human being to have to live and so I generally support these programs for that, for the dignity of humans. You know, the ARPA funds gave us an opportunity, I, I disrespectfully disagree with my colleague, those were really important use of ARPA funds and I’m thrilled that we had that opportunity to invest in some of some of this problem and also to have some time to really get that mobile support unit up and running and see that it's a successful program. I am thrilled to be investing more money in that in the in the coming years. So, you know I, I think that this is this is again one of the things that is said regularly about the budget is that that it does, it does show our values and I think that voting for it to, to let the voters decide shows our values, that we value the voters opinion number one and that it's something that's important for our community. So, I am happy to support it. I appreciate everyone's comments and we'll look forward to seeing what happens in November.
President Jones Ms. Vasecka.
Alderperson Vasecka Thank you and Ms. Sherrill, I am happy that we have a lot of folks on Council that disagree because that's what where discussions and policy is made. So, I’m happy that we can have a, a great discussion about this and Mr. Hess, I apologize for making a euphemism. I should have been more blunt I do think that we should put things on the back burner and not fund them and fund this instead. So, I just wanted to be clear on that and that I do think that this is more important than other things in the budget.
President Jones All right, seeing no other Council comment, I will just weigh in briefly. And I will say that my perspective is if we had other tools to use to fund these necessary programs, we'd be using them. I think we're a chronically underfunded city, as cities are across Montana. As Mr. Hess referenced, we have a very dysfunctional broken taxation system that needs attention and we're going to have a very difficult budget session in the next couple weeks, as we do our budget and my understanding is a great majority of other cities across Montana are in the same situation as us, at the same time as there is a huge surplus at the state level. So, I’m hoping there are more discussions regarding how to approach our revenue in Missoula and in cities across Montana because I would love to have more revenue. My impression of our city is that a huge amount of work and effort goes in to stretch our budget to provide the level of services that are expected in this community, and it's very difficult and challenging and stressful frankly but the city makes it work because these are the resources we have. To me, being creative means having revenue sources that come from different pockets than from property taxes here in Missoula because I don't care what label you put on it, if everything's coming from the same pocket, there is a huge amount of stress there on property taxpayers, be they renters or property owners, and it's not a good sustainable situations. So, for years I’ve been saying we need tax reform and I really, really mean it and I hope that we get it eventually. And when I say that we're underfunded, I would love to have more money to put towards affordable housing, to put towards Missoula Aging Services, to put towards parks creating more programs with other elementary schools, as they have with Lowell Elementary School. So, I would love to have those resources and in terms of being creative, I think that means having other sources of revenue and a more diverse tax base so that we don't tap out the same people all the time because that's what's happening, and we don't have any other tools. So, I don't think it's a lack of creativity, I think it's being hemmed in by the laws that govern us, and I can guarantee you other municipalities in Montana feel the same way. So, my two cents and I’m always happy to come talk to the legislature about my point of view, I have in the past, they don't seem too interested in me, but I will continue to knock on that door. I see no other Council comment, so we will go to a roll call vote on this Marty.