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CITY MANAGER’S REPORT April 13, 2021 BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2022 We are hard at work preparing the proposed FY22 budget. This week Finance Director Dahlman and I will have met with all departments to review their budget and capital improvement program requests. While some budgets will undoubtedly be difficult to balance, the Building Codes Fund is not one of them. Building is booming in Whitefish and the Building Codes Fund has collected well over 125% of the revenue budgeted for FY22. In fact, we anticipate a significant amount of revenue will be collected during the last 2.5 months of this fiscal year. While revenues look great, one of the challenges our Building Department is facing is keeping up with the workload. As of last week, we had 15 building permits approved and ready for payment (totaling ~$40,000) and 55 building permit applications moving through the approval process. Just this week we have received six additional applications. To provide the Building Department the support needed to manage the increased demand, the proposed budget will include an additional regular full-time administrative assistant for FY22. However, that will not address the current needs and growing backlog of filing and other administrative duties, nor will it address the increase in demand as we ramp up for the spring/summer building season in the next few months. Therefore, I am seeking input from the City Council on moving forward with advertising and hiring the proposed position immediately so the position can be filled by June. The total annual cost of the position is estimated at about $80,000, including employer costs and benefits. This position can easily be paid for without an increased cost to taxpayers by using revenues not anticipated and reserves on hand. The City has exceeded the reserve limitations for the Building Codes Fund due to the strong building environment during the past few years so spending down some of those reserves is appropriate in this case. However, that spenddown is unlikely to occur within the next two fiscal years since revenues are expected to hold strong during that time. Should the hiring of the position in June impact the FY21 budget, we would prepare a budget amendment for your consideration during our typical budget process. Overall, we are on track to have the proposed budget available for review on May 3rd with our first budget work session scheduled for Tuesday, June 1st starting at 5:30 p.m. via WebEx. COVID-19 PANDEMIC All individuals 16+ are eligible for a COVID-19 vaccination. The Flathead City-County Health Department is providing vaccinations to individuals and 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 ---PAGE BREAK--- will be returned in the order in which they are received, and individuals should only leave one voicemail. City volunteers, including community members and employees, continue to help fill non-clinical positions at the Whitefish COVID-19 Vaccination Clinics held on Thursdays at Grouse Mountain Lodge. The location of the clinic is moving to the Armory Building starting May 1st. We are still in need of more volunteers so if you are interested in volunteering, please send me an email at [EMAIL REDACTED] and I will add you to our weekly email distribution that includes the link to sign-up. The City’s mask mandate is still in effect. The emergency ordinance will terminate on May 13, 2021, unless repealed by the City Council or declared invalid due to preemptive legislation. MONTANA STATE LEGISLATURE SESSION We continue to monitor numerous bills for potential impacts to the City. There have been 712 House Bills and 408 Senate Bills introduced this session. The session was extended to May 11th primarily to deal with the American Rescue Plan funds that will be collected and distributed by the State. Below are some of the bills that we are tracking and their status: HB121 requires local governing body to approve certain local boards of health actions. The bill has passed the House and Senate. We will take into consideration the impacts of this bill as we work to be party to the interlocal agreement that created the Flathead City-County Health Board. HB137 generally revises vaping and alternative nicotine product laws. This bill was tabled in the Senate Business, Labor, and Economic Affairs Committee. While this is great news, we will continue to delay the preparation of the flavored tobacco products ordinance until after the legislative session ends. 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 concurred as amended in the Senate Judiciary Committee. The Senate concurred on the 2nd reading today with a 30-20 vote in support of the bill. It is anticipated this will move through the process for the Governor’s consideration during this session. HB259 prohibits inclusionary zoning and would eliminate the City’s Legacy Homes Program. The bill has passed both the House and Senate. It has been sent to the Governor for his signature. A joint letter on behalf of the City of Whitefish, City of Bozeman, and the Montana League of Cities and Towns was sent to the Governor requesting that he veto HB259. HB435 revises the civil liability laws for governments related to COVID-19. Like 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 and has been concurred by the Senate Business, Labor and Economic Affairs Committee. Consideration by the Senate is pending. ---PAGE BREAK--- HB436 generally revises firearm laws. The bill would allow open carrying of firearms within public buildings, as well as concealed permits. Originally the bill was drafted to allow for unpermitted concealed carrying, but that appears to have been amended. A hearing with the Senate Judiciary Committee was held in mid-March. This bill was tabled in committee on April 9th, and we are hopeful it will remain tabled until the end of the session. HB501 revises criminal law related to trespassing by providing that failure to wear a face covering or carry proof of vaccination may not be considered the crime of criminal trespass in a public place paid for in whole or in part with taxpayer funds. This has passed the House and the Senate with amendments. It has been sent back to the House for consideration and would be effective on passage and approval. HB562 revises highway encroachment laws within a municipality. This bill would eliminate the need for a temporary MDT encroachment permit along state highway routes in Whitefish, but the bill was tabled in committee. Amendments are available for consideration that would limit it to encroachments on sidewalks only. HB632 implements the receipt of and appropriates federal stimulus and COVID recovery funds allocated to the State. Some of the grant programs, as drafted in the bill, would decrease by 20% for any local government that has more stringent restrictions in place at the time of the grant award. This bill does not impact the amount specifically identified as funds to be allocated to local governments in the American Rescue Plan. SB108 requires local the governing body to approve the local board of health actions. This bill has passed the Senate and House with amendments. The bill has been returned to the Senate with the amendments. SB161 was signed by the Governor on April 11th and allows for certain subdivision to qualify for an expedited review process. An update to our subdivision standards will be necessary as we prepare for the effective date of the legislation of October 1, 2021. SB393 would have provided for whole or in part remote public meetings. The bill was tabled in committee and missed the transmittal date. SB397 would eliminate the ability of a local government from having specific regulations for accessory dwelling units. Such items prohibited include parking requirements, owner occupied requirements, requirement more onerous building standards or requiring separate utility services. This bill was tabled in committee and missed the transmittal deadline. SB398 is similar to HB137 and would not allow a local government from prohibiting the sale of alternative and vapor nicotine products. The bill was approved by the Senate and sent to the House on April 8th. A hearing is scheduled for April 14th in the House Business and Labor Committee. We will continue to delay the preparation of the flavored tobacco products ordinance until after this bill is either dead or acted upon at all levels. ---PAGE BREAK--- There are also numerous bills involving the implementation of the voter approved recreational use and sale of marijuana. We are monitoring these bills as we will need to amend our City Code to comply with the new state regulations. If interested, you can monitor what bills are being tracked by the MLCT here. NEXT CITY COUNCIL MEETING The next City Council meeting will be held on Monday, May 3rd via WebEx. During the work session, the City Council will hold board and committee interviews. Respectfully submitted, Dana M. Smith, CPA City Manager