Difficult Topic Highlights Great Falls Special Work Session

Difficult Topic Highlights Great Falls Special Work Session

As crime continues in various ways and areas across Great Falls, the city commissioners continue to try and fight ways to combat it.  In its most general form, the answer is a mixed one that generates oftentimes a heated discussion.

More services are needed across the board.  Whether it be in law enforcement, emergency response services, firefighters or and to include the upkeep that goes with those departments.  But that little stickler of money is keeping those services from being upgraded at this time.

Great Falls Is Starting to Get Tapped Out of Living with Taxes

Hey, I understand we need to pay for stuff.  But continually taxing local citizens has become unbearable for those people.  I am one of them.  Every time I hear the word levy, I cringe.  So other than a dreaded four-letter word, how do we pay for the services?

In the City Commission Special Session held on Monday, February 12th, commissioners and other local leaders tried to find those solutions.  The public meeting included presentations from members of municipal court, legal, police and fire departments.

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GF Commissioner Tryon Shares Some Ideas Presented at Meeting

In a social media post, Great Falls City Commissioner Rick Tryon outlined some of those ideas that were brought to the table:

Fees for safety services charged to large non-profits that pay no taxes.

Severely limit or eliminate the City’s only two economic development tools - tax abatements and TIFFs.

Eliminate all but core public safety functions and services.

Triage prosecutions and emergency calls for service.

Cut general fund subsidies to non-public safety departments resulting in fee increases and/or reduction in other City services.

Reallocate available discretionary general fund dollars from other services to public safety.