Hometown Helena Thursday, August 24th: Visit Helena

 

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Hometown Helena this Thursday, August 24th: Visit Helena

August 22, 2023


Greetings Everyone,


The hurricane rains might have been a bit much in California, but they were sure welcome here in Montana. Hopefully they cooled off the forests and damped down the wildfires. Perhaps we can get another update this week?


We have touched on the recent property appraisals from the Montana Department of Revenue, and what they might mean for the average homeowner in Lewis and Clark county. Commissioner Tom Rolfe recommended the following article from the Montana Free Press:


https://montanafreepress.org/2023/06/22/property-taxes-explained-with-pictures/


This is about as good an article as you will find on the subject. The whole process reminds me of the Texas Two Step: the Montana Department of Revenue appraises properties, but County Commissioners set the county budget, and they can adjust the actual mills levied from budget to budget, which determines the level of taxation property owners end up bearing from year to year. That may be too simple of an explanation? We are trying to get a program arranged at one of our upcoming Hometown Helena meetings. We’ll keep you posted. 


The debate over property taxes in Montana, however, is nothing new. Some folks will remember Initiative 105 from 1986. This was the voter approved initiative that 'capped’ property taxes. A lot of tax policy water has gone under the bridge since that initiative passed. Exceptions, exemptions and work arounds have been enacted in the years since passage of I-105. Below is an excerpt from a fairly recent report (2015) from the Legislative Services Division to the Revenue and Transportation Interim Committee.


Background on Limitation on Property Taxes. Adequacy of Local Government Revenue Generating Capacity Study Prepared for the Revenue and Transportation Interim Committee By Megan Moore, Research Analyst. September 2015


Sources of Local Revenue. More than half (55%) of local revenue in Montana is derived from federal government transfers, state government transfers, and the local share of state taxes. Local taxes account for 26% of local revenue. Tuition and nonutility services contribute 13% of local revenue and the remaining 6% is from interest and miscellaneous sources.


The state taxes of which local governments receive a portion are mostly natural resource taxes. The oil and natural gas production tax is the largest of these revenue sources. In FY 2014, nearly $96 million went to local governments and school districts, or nearly half of the revenue from the oil and natural gas production tax.

Of the taxes levied by local governments, the property tax accounts for almost 97% of the revenue. Severance and other taxes contribute an additional 1.7%, sales and excise taxes account for 0.8%, and motor vehicle licenses make up 0.6% of revenues.


Limitation on Property Taxes. Montana law limits property taxes, which make up about one-quarter of total local government revenue. These property tax limits originated with Initiative 105 (I-105). This section provides a brief overview of I-105 and how current law differs from the initiative. A legislative history prepared by Douglas J. Young of Montana State University is included as a separate document and covers the history after enactment of I-105 through the year 1996. The paper also discusses actions by the 1987 Legislature to clarify and interpret I-105.

Initiative 105. On November 4, 1986, voters approved I-105, which provided that “taxes levied on property classes 3, 4, 6, 9, 12, and 14 could not exceed the amounts levied on those classes of property for the taxable year 1986.” The initiative would not take effect if the 1987 Legislature approved “an act lowering the taxes on the above listed classes of property and establishing alternative revenue sources.” The initiative passed with 166,694 votes for and 136,904 votes against.


Meanwhile, we have a great program lined up for this week. The folks from 'Visit Helena'—Andrea Opitz and Chelsea Paschall—will join us to discuss the summer’s events and visitation. You may have seen this new Visit Helena logo recently.


We’re eager to hear about the summer season and how the many visitors enjoyed their time and their experiences in Helena.


Please join Hometown Helena this Thursday morning on the 6th floor of the Montana Club, or via the zoom. We’re looking forward to seeing you and to another good discussion.


Jim Smith

406-949-1002

John Cech, Sandra Bauman, and Kathy Bushnell address Hometown Helena

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Hometown Helena - Thursday, August 24th, 7 a.m. @ The Montana Club & Live via ZOOM hosted by Pinion:

  • Andrea Opitz and Chelsea Paschall, Visit Helena

  • Online Meeting Instructions: Please keep your phone or microphone muted during the meeting and note that your camera may be on depending on your ZOOM settings. Please "raise your hand" at the start of the meeting if you will have an opening update or introduction.


  • In-Person Announcements: Please plan on approaching the front of the room to make announcements directly to our host so online attendees can hear. There is time at the beginning of the meeting for announcements.


  • View Program Recording: Hometown Helena is recorded and posted at HometownHelena.news, typically within a day.


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The Hometown Helena Team is Jim Smith, Rick Hays, Kelly Cresswell, Emily McVey, Emily Frazier, Ali Mandell, Tom McGree, Peter Strauss, Haley McKnight and Matt Elsaesser

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