taxes

Rep. Mary Caferro writes, "The GOP supermajority and Governor could have done something to help ordinary Montanans but they instead served the interests of whiskey and steak slinging lobbyists, not you."

The state's shift in property taxes away from corporations to homeowners is reaching a breaking point as households struggle, Missoula city officials said.

County officials said local residents would have seen a tax decrease this year if not for the increased value of homes. The Legislature's failure to lower the residential tax rate from 1.35% to .94%, as recommended by DOR, also played a role.

Missoula County on Tuesday placed its official support behind an effort lead by Beaverhead County that's challenging the state's “consistent” levying of certain mills despite a provision in Montana law that requires a reduction in mills when taxable values increase.

In a four-hour show of priorities and opinions, the Missoula City Council on Wednesday considered a long list of amendments to the new city budget that would either add new costs or cut them.

While households work to cover a 19% rate increase from NorthWestern Energy, the City of Missoula also is facing rising electrical costs, and a portion of that will be passed on to residents within the city's 52 street lighting districts.

Representatives for the Montana Association of Counties, Wild Montana, and the Montana Wildlife Federation this week lauded legislators’ override of Gianforte’s veto of the appropriations bill.

With the budgeting season set to kick off, members of the Missoula City Council this week set the rules that will guide the process and time it with the state's release of its latest tax valuations.

While the mayor's request for an emergency levy to fund the operation of a second homeless shelter for the remainder of the year remains on the table, members of the Missoula City Council on Wednesday directed city staff to present a menu of other options and provide regular updates on the progress.

Later this month, Missoula home owners and others around the state will receive what they may dread the most – the state's latest appraised value of their property.