The Cascade County Treasurer’s office sent property tax bills to the printer on Nov .15
Diane Heikkila, county treasurer, told The Electric that the paper bills should be mailed to property owners by Nov. 25.
She said that the bills are available now online and can be paid through that system or in the county treasurer’s office.
The due date has shifted to reflect the delay to Dece. 31.
County tax bills are typically mailed out in October and due in November to the county treasurer’s office, which then distributes funds to the appropriate local agencies, such as the City of Great Falls, Great Falls Public Schools and Great Falls Transit District.
Heikkila told The Electric in October that her office has been waiting on final tax valuation numbers to process tax bills, but a change in values from the Montana Department of Revenue in October forced the county, GFPS and GFT to adjust their numbers, delaying the process.
The Montana Department of Revenue notified Cascade County, Great Falls Public Schools, Great Falls Transit and the City of Great Falls officials on Oct. 25 of their revised certified taxable value due to an “industrial appeal settlement.”
GFPS, County adjusting taxable values after Calumet revision; tax bills delayed
The adjustment appears to be related to the department’s recent request for clarification of Calumet’s tax abatement approved by the city and county rather than an actual appeal settlement, according to county officials.
DOR officials told GFPS officials in October that the adjustment was due to ongoing appeals with Calumet.
Calumet considers appeal of 2024 taxes
DOR has not yet responded to The Electric’s Oct. 25 questions for clarification on what specifically was the reason for the adjustment. The department’s spokesperson told The Electric that he expected a response to our questions on Nov. 18.
The city capped their 2022 tax abatement at $50 million and did not receive a revised valuation with the the other local taxing jurisdictions on Oct. 25, according to the city finance office.
Calumet still has two pending appeals before the Montana Tax Appeal Board for 2022 and 2023 taxes and said in Oct. 18 filings that it was still considering whether to protest its 2024 taxes.
Calumet announces $1.4 billion federal loan for expansion as regional officials question wastewater, taxes
Montana Renewables, Calumet’s subsidiary, has an appeal pending before the state tax board of the Montana Department of Environmental Quality’s decision not to certify the entire Great Falls facility as tax exempt.
The Oct. 25 adjustment lowers the taxable values of each jurisdiction by about $4 million.
GFPS board approves request to access protested Calumet taxes
City officials were were told my DOR that the city’s valuation change was less that one percent, so they didn’t have to recertify their taxable values, City Manager Greg Doyon said during their Nov. 6 meeting.
Doyon said that when the city doesn’t recertify and there’s less tax revenue, they make up the difference with fund balance.
City policy is to maintain a 22 percent fund balance, which equates to about a two and a half month’s worth of operating expenses so the city can ensure cash flow in the event of a major unanticipated expense.
City Commission approves tax increase, budget
In the current budget, commissioners adopted a slightly higher fund balance at 24.5 percent, since they’re anticipating a continued significant tax protest from Calumet.
In the current budget, the city is projected to end the year with a $9,912,051 fund balance, above what would be a 22 percent fund balance of $8,979,234.
Melissa Kinzler, city finance director, said the city wouldn’t have that cash flow right now with CARES Act, or federal COVID relief, funds.
Montana Renewables, Calumet have pending tax appeals before state board
The city typically receives the first half of property tax revenues in November, but the recertification due to Calumet has delayed that and since taxes aren’t due now until the end of December, the city won’t likely get most of its revenue until January.
Kinzler said during the Nov. 6 commission work session that as of the end of September, the city had about $2.5 million of cash in the general fund and one city payroll cycle is $1.1 million so her office is projecting that they’ll be in a deficit by the end of December.
She said the “we’re very close to not being able to have cash flow,” and the Calumet tax protest filed last year and pending before the state tax appeal board is tying up about $1.1 million of city tax revenue in last year’s budget and again this year, according to city finance officials, making the general fund shortfall more pronounced.
The Great Falls Public Schools board voted during their Oct. 28 meeting to adjust their budget for the revised tax valuations.
County board upholds state’s revised tax valuation for Calumet
The revision lowered the amount in the elementary district by $4,130,446 and in the high school district by $4,129,255.
That changes the district’s taxable valuation that was issued by DOR in August, and used for the district’s budget, from $182,603,795 in the elementary to $178,473,349; and $185,329,633 to $181,200,378 in the high school.
The district submitted their budget to the state in August and will be updated.
The adopted budget amounts won’t change, but the the mills levied will increase due to the decrease in taxable valuation, creating “a tax shift from Calumet to the district taxpayers,” according to Brian Patrick, GFPS’ business operations manager.
The school board adopted a budget in August with a tax reduction of $75.27 on a house with a $300,000 taxable valuation, according to GFPS.
Taxpayers will still be paying less toward GFPS this year, but that reduction will be slightly less with the taxable valuation revisions.
Calumet appeals county tax board denial to state [2023]
Now, a taxpayer will pay $53.59 less than last year on a house with a $300,000 taxable valuation, according to GFPS.
On Oct. 30, the Cascade County Commission is scheduled to conduct a special meeting to address the tax revision.
Commissioner Joe Briggs said he believes the adjustment is the Calumet abatement issue DOR sought clarification for over the summer and that commissioners voted on Oct. 15.
He said that the adjustment is larger than the estimate DOR had provided, which was a $2.9 million reduction in taxable valuation. Briggs said the county based their budget on that estimate so their budget officer is preparing an analysis of the impact.
“In each of the last few years we have had an adjustment downward in the taxable valuations after we have set the mills due to various tax appeals at the state level and we have not redone our mills, but have instead reduced spending as necessary and adjusted the budget as needed,” Briggs said.
The revision impacts the county’s general fund and countywide levies, which totaled 141.48 mills.
County requests tax recertification for GFPS budget, Calumet tax reduction [2021]
The revision translates to a reduction in revenue from what was budgeted of about $125,000 in the general fund and about $3,000 for the public safety levy.
The change only affected values in the newly taxable category, Briggs said, so it doesn’t change the number of mills the county can levy and doesn’t require a public hearing to adjust the mills.
Briggs said commissioners can modify the budget later if needed to reduce the spending levels to match the new tax estimates.
Great Falls Transit holding budget, mill levy hearing Aug. 23 [2023]
County Commissioners held another special meeting Nov. 8 to adjust the mills for the Great Falls Transit District, which is a standalone entity that is not part of the city or county. It’s primarily funded through federal programs, but is also funded through local taxes, that were approved by voters in the 1970s.
