Mayor rolls out 2021 proposed budget

At the Town, annual budget deliberations speed up as we enter the 3rd quarter of 2020. On June 30th, Mayor Brandon Dewey rolled out his proposed 2021 budget, which covers the fiscal year between July 1, 2020 and June 30, 2021. The Town Council now will review that budget and hold a public hearing on July 9th. By state law, the Town has to adopt a balanced budget before the by the later of the first Thursday after the first Tuesday in September or within 30 calendar days of receipt of the municipality’s taxable value from the Montana Department of Revenue.

The Mayor’s proposed budget, which totals $4.1 million, is designed to ensure that our investments will support the priorities of our citizens.

The 2021 budget is the culmination of 2 years’ worth of work. With this budget, we will continue to make government more affordable to the people we serve, accountable to their expectations and aligned to their priorities.

And most importantly, it supports the goals and initiatives of our joint Council-Administration Stevensville First Strategic Plan, which is designed to propel us toward our desired future. We want to be a safer, smarter, and healthier Town!

“Through strict adherence to our budget principles, we have established and maintained significant financial stability at the Town during the last 2 years. We shouldn’t take this for granted,” says Mayor Dewey. “We know the dollars that our citizens provide us are precious. We must invest them wisely to get the outcomes our citizens deserve.”

The budget includes:

• A $850,000 General Fund, which pays for basic government services, including police, fire, parks, and streets.
• A $2.4 million budget for enterprise funds, which include our water and wastewater utilities and airport.
• The rest pays for our capital program, debt service and internal services like technology, accounting and finance, and fleet services.

Here are some investment highlights. The budget:

• Retains 4 sworn police personnel and facilitates improvements to community policing.
• Creates the Town’s own community development director, increasing efficiency in the planning and building divisions.
• Make investments in park facilities and expands recreation programming for a healthier community.
• Continues with infrastructure construction to improve our street system and sidewalks.
• Markets opportunities for economic development in our Tax Increment Districts on the Airport and in NE Stevensville.

More information on the Mayor’s Proposed 2021 budget is available on our web site.