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CITY MANAGER’S REPORT February 23, 2021 COVID-19 PANDEMIC The Flathead City-County Health Department continues to provide vaccinations to individuals in Tier 1B by appointment only. If you meet the requirements for Tier 1B you can fill out a form online here or call the COVID-19 Vaccine line at [PHONE REDACTED] and leave a voicemail. Individuals are asked to leave a voicemail with their name, date of birth, and phone number, and the Health Department will return calls to schedule appointments based on weekly vaccine allotments. Calls for scheduling will be returned in the order in which they are received, and individuals should only leave one voicemail. On February 17, 2021, the City and North Valley Hospital executed an MOU for City volunteers to provide assistance for non-clinical positions at the Whitefish COVID-19 Vaccination Clinics held on Thursdays at Grouse Mountain Lodge. Volunteers are scheduled to start helping at the clinics on February 25th. For the Whitefish location, all vaccination appointments must be scheduled through the Health Department as described above. As directed by the City Council on February 16th, staff is in the process of preparing an emergency ordinance that will continue to allow the use of remote meetings by the City Council and other committees. The proposed emergency ordinance will be included for your consideration at the March 15, 2021, City Council meeting. The expiration of current Emergency Ordinance 20-18 is set for March 21, 2021. MONTANA STATE LEGISLATURE SESSION We continue to monitor numerous bills for potential impacts to the City. As of today, there have been over 600 House Bills and 360 Senate Bills introduced with more to come. Below are some of the bills that are of significant importance or interest: HB86 would have provided for the option to have a regional fire authority and was tabled in committee. This may have been an option to consider when providing fire services in the WFSA and City, but it is likely dead. HB137 generally revises vaping and alternative nicotine product laws. This bill has passed the House and was transmitted to the Senate. The Senate has referred it to Committee and no action has been taken to-date. If passed by the Senate, this bill would prohibit the City from having an ordinance that is more restrictive than State law regarding the sale and marketing of all vaping products, including flavored products. With this bill having made it through the House, staff has delayed the preparation of the flavored tobacco products ordinance until the first meeting in April unless directed to proceed more expeditiously by the City Council. HB257 would eliminate the City’s face covering ordinance. A recent amendment to the bill now makes it retroactive so any previously adopted ordinances would be unenforceable. The bill has passed the House and had its first reading in the Senate on February 19, 2021. ---PAGE BREAK--- HB259 prohibits inclusionary zoning and would eliminate the City’s Legacy Homes Program. The bill passed the House Local Government Committee and the House. The first reading in the Senate was on February 17, 2021, and it was referred to the Senate Local Government Committee the same day. The City adamantly opposes this bill and will provide similar comments to the Senate Local Government Committee. HB395 would prohibit the creation of new zoning districts during a governor declared state of emergency but does allow for interim zoning ordinances. With the effective date retroactive to January 1, 2020, there are unknown consequences of previously approved voluntary annexations and the related zoning applied during the last year. HB435 revises the civil liability laws for governments related to COVID-19. Similar to SB65 that limited civil liability for businesses and was signed into law by Governor Gianforte, this bill does basically the same for government entities. This bill passed the House Judiciary Committee. HB473 would generally revise resort tax laws for resort tax areas and resort tax area districts. As currently drafted, this bill would not impact the City’s resort tax since we are a resort community, not area. HB531 would prohibit qualified immunity as a defense for all public employees. This was referred to the Judiciary Committee and we are researching the potential impacts from this bill. HB550 would establish presumption in workers compensation for COVID-19 for essential employees. This could increase our workers compensation rates if passed. SB161 would allow for certain subdivision to qualify for an expedited review process. We do not strongly support or oppose this bill. SB313 would provide for a local option tax that requires voter approval and may not exceed This bill was referred to the Taxation Committee and likely has an uphill battle as in prior years. The local option tax is a desire of many communities that see tourism and exceed the population limits of resort tax. There also appears to be two tax increment bills that will be introduced this week, but the impacts to future TIF Districts in Whitefish do not appear to be significant if passed as drafted. We are also monitoring bills related to the recent legalization of recreational marijuana, which could impact how we proceed with any zoning changes related to the sale of marijuana in City limits. If interested, you can monitor what bills are being tracked by the MLCT here. MEETINGS The City has reached a tentative agreement with the Montana Federation of Public Employees: Police Protective Association. The following are some highlights tentatively agreed to in the collective bargaining agreement for the next three years: ---PAGE BREAK--- • A one-time market rate adjustment of 5% is included for FY22 to correct the wages of police officers and bring them within the market range in Flathead County and other Montana municipalities. • FY22 also includes a 1.5% cost of living adjustment and a 2% Step (longevity). This wage adjustment is the anticipated results of the current wage formula utilized for most City employees and takes into consideration expected increases in the tax base for FY22, a reappraisal year. • FY23 and FY24 wages will be adjusted based on the formula previously utilized with the cap reduced to 3.5% compared to the cap of 4% provided for in the previous contract. A floor of 0% remains intact. • A Random Drug Testing Program is expected to be developed with representation from management and the union. The intent is to have all safety sensitive positions subject to the program. We do have a tentative agreement from the IAFF Local 3995 to also participate in the program. • Police officers continue to earn personal time off for all City holidays since they are unable to take those days off work. A maximum accrual of 300 hours (equivalent to 2-years) will be placed on personal time-off accruals per officer for FY22-FY24. In the past there has been no limit to the hours accrued so we currently have significant unfunded liabilities outstanding that become due and payable should any officer retire or terminate employment. The required pay-out of any hours earned in excess of the maximum accrual will add cost to the City moving forward, but this is the first step in addressing the unfunded outstanding liabilities related to leave accruals of employees and demonstrates an improvement in financial sustainability. Negotiations with the International Association of Fire Fighters: Local 3995 are ongoing. Our next scheduled meeting is on March 31, 2021. NEXT CITY COUNCIL MEETING The next City Council meeting will be held remotely via WebEx on Monday, March 15th. The work session is tentatively scheduled for the City Council to review the proposed pilot parking permit program to be offered downtown this coming summer. Respectfully submitted, Dana M. Smith, CPA City Manager