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CITY MANAGER’S REPORT December 31, 2020 RESORT TAX Resort Tax collections continue to increase over the prior year. For the month of October, we are expecting growth of about 11% over the prior year when all delinquencies and payments for other periods are considered. Year-to-date Resort Tax collections are 7.7% higher than the prior year at this time, or $143,029 higher. The cash basis report is attached. MEETINGS On Wednesday, December 18th, I met with Ron Catlett, Northwest Field Representative for the Office of Senator Steve Daines. We had a great discussion about the challenges we continue to face and how the Federal Government could support local communities like us. I explained that communities need funding assistance for projects like our Wastewater Treatment Plant and other infrastructure projects, especially when the requirement to upgrade is mandated by the Federal government. We also discussed affordable housing, impacts of tourism, small cell wireless, and our climate action plan. On December 19th, I attended the Whitefish Community Center Board meeting to introduce myself and review some of the City’s goals and major projects with the Board. It was great to meet the Board members and learn about their mission. I also attended the Wave Board meeting on December 19th. The Board unanimously adopted the 2020 budget with a small increase in fees that will be effective in February. There are significant capital projects planned, as well as increases in marketing, staff training, and wages for some positions due to the competitive nature of the job market. The Whitefish Strategic Housing Plan Steering Committee met on Thursday, December 19h, to discuss the significant funding gap based on the original conceptual design and financial feasibility study. The Committee unanimously recommended that we should continue working with Homeward on a new conceptual design that would include at least 24 townhomes that would be sold instead of the 12 townhomes for sale and two apartment buildings for rent. We are working to get a scope of services from Homeward to proceed with a new conceptual design and financial feasibility study. The Committee will meet again on January 9, 2020, at 6:00 p.m. On Monday, December 30th, I called into a meeting with City Managers from Kalispell and Columbia Falls, the County Administrator, and other County staff, to draft possible ballot language as a solution for the 911 Center Funding Committee’s consideration. We agreed that the idea approach would be the formation of a special district that will be taken to the voters in the general election this coming Fall. The assessment for the special district that will adequately cover operating costs and capital would be allocated based on taxable value of properties within the district. We will be presenting our proposal to the 911 Center Funding Committee on January 7th. In the near future, we will also need to address the proposed Interlocal Agreement from the County on management plans for the 911 Center and related dispatch services. ---PAGE BREAK--- REMINDERS AND SPECIAL EVENTS City Hall will be closed on Monday, January 20th, to observe Martin Luther King Jr. Day. NEXT COUNCIL MEETING The next City Council meeting will be held on Tuesday, January 21st, due to the holiday on Monday of that week. The work session is tentatively scheduled to review the draft of the Sustainable Tourism Master Plan and for staff to provide a brief update on the water treatment plant. Respectfully submitted, Dana M. Smith, CPA City Manager ---PAGE BREAK--- BARS & MONTH/YEAR LODGING RESTAURANTS RETAIL COLLECTED INTEREST TOTAL July 2017 90,112 199,016 189,212 478,339 -4.07% 1,206 479,545 August 2017 288,893 199,498 183,320 671,711 22.68% 1,562 673,273 September 2017 99,465 144,690 122,275 366,431 3.73% 8.4% 1,521 367,951 October 2017 15,863 85,090 90,139 191,091 -9.11% 2,414 193,505 November 2017 41,145 115,444 139,232 295,821 28.80% 1,400 297,221 December 2017 36,677 108,634 170,756 316,067 -3.39% 4.7% 1,638 317,705 January 2018 36,816 101,930 91,093 229,838 11.04% 1,845 231,683 February 2018 44,994 118,623 121,004 284,621 16.26% 1,905 286,526 March 2018 37,804 109,298 90,845 237,947 5.04% 10.9% 2,301 240,248 April 2018 20,288 103,847 77,599 201,733 13.92% 2,539 204,272 May 2018 42,150 120,819 156,860 319,828 11.18% 2,779 322,607 June 2018 120,920 160,321 166,860 448,102 12.12% 12.2% 2,640 450,742 Total FY18 875,126 $ 1,567,210 $ 1,599,193 $ 4,041,530 $ 8.96% 23,749 $ 4,065,279 $ FY17 vs FY18 vs 13.30% 8.83% 6.85% 8.96% or 332,338 $ Taxable Sales FY18 141,808,062 $ July 2018 119,942 177,844 198,144 495,929 3.68% 3,106 499,035 August 2018 264,354 229,620 197,726 691,700 2.98% 3,679 695,379 September 2018 142,291 164,124 140,948 447,364 22.09% 7.8% 3,651 451,015 October 2018 20,456 97,842 88,200 206,499 8.06% 4,961 211,460 November 2018 35,406 103,516 144,150 283,072 -4.31% 4,361 287,433 December 2018 55,411 164,740 170,097 390,248 23.47% 9.6% 2,934 393,182 January 2019 18,604 104,553 93,126 216,282 -5.90% 1,484 217,766 February 2019 65,030 115,721 112,557 293,308 3.05% 2,964 296,272 March 2019 39,314 99,013 96,841 235,168 -1.17% -1.0% 3,516 238,684 April 2019 10,603 95,642 90,323 196,568 -2.56% 3,636 200,204 May 2019 66,270 129,909 166,386 362,565 13.36% 3,845 366,410 June 2019 127,881 172,006 159,794 459,681 2.58% 5.1% 3,792 463,473 Total FY19 965,561 $ 1,654,530 $ 1,658,293 $ 4,278,383 $ 5.86% 41,929 $ 4,320,312 $ FY18 vs FY19 10.33% 5.57% 3.70% 5.86% or 236,854 $ Taxable Sales FY19 150,118,717 $ July 2019 232,446 249,822 222,176 704,445 42.05% 4,227 708,672 August 2019 107,985 171,849 184,288 464,123 -32.90% 4,340 468,463 September 2019 202,784 187,080 146,596 536,460 19.92% 4.3% 4,210 540,670 October 2019 72,020 114,362 93,111 279,493 35.35% 4,000 283,493 November 2019 - - December 2019 - - January 2020 - - February 2020 - - March 2020 - - April 2020 - - May 2020 - - June 2020 - - Total FY20 615,236 $ 723,114 $ 646,172 $ 1,984,521 $ 7.77% 16,777 $ 2,001,298 $ FY19 vs FY20 12.47% 8.02% 3.38% 7.77% or 143,029 $ Taxable Sales FY20 69,632,318 $ FY19 % of Collections 14% 17% 15% 46% Grand Total 8,612,376 $ 16,735,537 $ 18,943,737 $ 44,291,650 $ 859,495 $ 45,151,695 $ % of Total Collections 19% 38% 43% 2.8% Average since '96 Total Taxable Sales Since 1996 Oct s/b Sept 10 2,410 $ 6,447 $ 5,099 $ 13,956 $ 94,556 $ FY96-FY15 1,415,763,781 $ Oct s/b Sept 09 239 $ 1,327 $ 4,406 $ 5,971 $ 86,077 FY16-YTD 610,250,456 $ Total 2,026,014,237 $ 2,172 $ 5,120 $ 693 $ 7,985 $ Total Collected FY96-FY15 28,315,276 $ FY16-YTD 18,307,514 $ Total 46,622,789 $ 5% Admin FY96-FY15 1,415,764 $ FY16-YTD 915,376 $ Total 2,331,139 $ Public Portion FY96-YTD 44,291,650 $ Resort Tax Report Reported in the Month Businesses Collected Tax - 100,000 200,000 300,000 400,000 500,000 600,000 700,000 800,000 Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Total Resort Tax Collections by Month FY17 FY18 FY19 FY20