View Agenda Item

Back to View Meetings Back to Agenda

Previous Item Next Item

Consent 1.O.

City Council Regular Business Meeting

Meeting Date:: 07/13/2026
TITLE: FY27 Billings MPO Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP)
PRESENTED BY:: Lora Mattox
Department:: Planning & Community Services

Presentation:

Legal Review:

Project Number:

N/A

RECOMMENDATION

Staff recommends that the City Council forward a recommendation for approval of the FFYY27 Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP) to the Policy Coordinating Committee (PCC). The PCC is scheduled to take final action on the UPWP at its meeting on July 21, 2026. The City Council received a presentation on the FFY27 UPWP at its July 6 work session.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Billings MPO is presenting the Draft FFY 2027 Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP) for review and recommendation. The UPWP outlines how federal transportation planning funds from FHWA and FTA, administered through MDT, will support transportation and transit planning activities from October 1, 2026, through September 30, 2027.

The MPO received a federal Planning (PL) allocation of $1,035,870, supported by local matching funds from the Yellowstone County Planning Levy and City and County planning fee revenues, for a total program budget of $2.17 million. Key FFY27 projects include replacement of traffic and trail counters and the launch of the 2028 Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP) update, which will focus on public engagement, technical analysis, and travel demand model updates.

Approval of the UPWP is necessary to maintain access to federal transportation planning funds and continue transportation planning efforts for the Billings area.

BACKGROUND (Consistency with Adopted Plans and Policies, if applicable)

The Billings MPO (MPO) is presenting the Draft 2027 Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP) for review and recommendation to the governing bodies. The UPWP is primarily for programming federal funds that Billings receives from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) for transportation planning and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) for transit (MET) planning. These funds are passed through the Montana Department of Transportation (MDT). All transportation planning activities are included in the UPWP to represent a comprehensive document for the urban transportation planning program. This UPWP proposes planning activities for Federal Fiscal Year 2027, running from October 1, 2026, through September 30, 2027, and corresponds directly with the Planning Division’s annual work plan.

This year the total PL allocation is $1,035,870, which the Planning Division proposes providing local matching funds for, which are required at a certain percentage per element (a total breakdown of funding is located in Table 1 Funding Summary on page 52). On page 53, Table 3 provides a 5-year PL funding allocation projection. By outlining the proposed future PL funding that the Billings MPO could receive, it allows for future project planning and ensures that the MPO will have funding available for the required documents the MPO is required to complete.

A review of the FFY26 funding summary and the FFY27 PL funding level shows that the MPO will receive approximately $359,953 less in PL funding this cycle. This reduction is primarily due to lower carryover funding from FFY25, as unobligated PL funds are available for carryover after two years, as well as the addition of two new MPOs, Helena and Bozeman, which has increased competition for available PL funds.

During FFY26, the Billings MPO completed a significant amendment to the 2023 Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP), which included updates to the MPO Planning Area Boundary and revisions to the fiscally constrained project list. As part of this effort, MPO staff also developed a transportation planning dashboard to improve public access to transportation planning information and project tracking. The MPO continued work on several planning studies, including:

Finalizing the 21st Street Underpass Feasibility Study
Advancing additional Safe Routes to School (SRTS) feasibility analysis and public outreach activities
Initiated the Trails for All Feasibility Study, which evaluates trail connections between Downtown and the Heights, the Alkali -Creek corridor, and the Aronson Trail system
MPO staff is finalizing a Complete Streets Economic Analysis to better understand the economic benefits associated with multimodal transportation investments
In addition, the MPO implemented organizational changes consistent with FHWA and MDT recommendations by transitioning the MPO Traffic Technician position into the Planning Division to strengthen integration between transportation planning and data collection activities.

As a result of the reduced PL funding allocation, the MPO's ability to undertake transportation planning activities beyond those required for federally mandated MPO documents will be more limited this year. For the Billings MPO, the main focus will include the initiation of the update to the Long Range Transportation Plan that will be required to be completed by July 2028.

Table 4 on page 53 outlines the percentage breakdown per element (note that some transportation planning elements are 100% PL funded). The Planning Division matches these funds through the Planning Mill levy and fees generated through city and county planning applications and processes. This year, with the allocation for staffing and transportation planning activities, the MPO is proposing to use up to $988,000 in PL funding. The local match is $719,000. This amount includes portions of the $695,569 from the County Planning Mil Levy, $170,000 in County Planning fees, and $274,000 in City Planning fees, with the remaining balance of $420,596 of local funding utilized for non-MPO operations and projects. The un-programmed PL funds in the amount of $47,871 will carry over to FFY29.

Projects identified for this year’s program include (detailed description of each project in the UPWP):

Under Element 300 – Transportation System Data – 100% PL

Replacement and upgrade to traffic and trail counters. The total cost budgeted for this is $20,000. Proposed by the MPO.

Under Element 301 – Transportation Plan – 100% PL

In FFY27, Billings MPO staff will begin internal development of the 2028 Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP) through a two-year effort focused on public engagement and technical preparation. Initial activities will include public meetings, stakeholder coordination, digital outreach, an interactive mapping platform, and a public survey to identify transportation needs, safety concerns, mobility issues, and investment priorities across the region, with portions of the outreach and survey work supported by consultant services. Concurrently, the MPO will initiate updates to the regional TransCAD travel demand model using current demographic, land use, and network data, with consultant assistance for model calibration and technical analysis as needed. These efforts will provide a strong, data-driven, and publicly informed foundation for continued LRTP development in future program years. MPO staff has already begun reviewing the 2023 LRTP and outlining steps for the 2028 update, with $100,000 allocated for first-year technical support, including $24,141 dedicated to Safe and Accessible Transportation Planning Options.

FISCAL EFFECTS

Approval of the 2027 UPWP allows the MPO to access federal funds for transportation planning in the community. Federal and local funds are combined to provide most of the planning work done by the Planning Division for the City and the County. If the UPWP is not approved, there would be a significant loss of resources for community planning, and the community's ability to manage transportation planning projects and programs would be severely limited. The estimated breakdown of funding sources for the FY 2027 UPWP is as follows:
- $274,000 Planning Dept. Fee Revenue (City of Billings)
- $170,000 Planning Dept. Fee Revenue (Yellowstone County)
- $695,569 Yellowstone County Planning Levy
- $1,035,870 Federal Planning (PL) Allocation
Total Local and Federal Program Funding (UPWP): $2,175,439

STAKEHOLDERS

The local review of the UPWP involves work sessions and regular business meetings of the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC), City Council (Council), Yellowstone County Board of Commissioners (BOCC), and Yellowstone County Board of Planning (Planning Board). In addition, MPO staff met directly with the City and County Public Works Department to develop future transportation planning projects that the MPO could undertake to assist in future capital project implementation.

The Planning Board also conducts a legally advertised public hearing at its meeting to review the UPWP. The public can provide comments or questions at the Council, BOCC, and Planning Board meetings, as well as formal public testimony at the Planning Board. Below is a list of outreaches associated with the development of the FY27 UPWP:

May 20, MPO staff met with the County Public Works staff. Discussion included a discussion on the types of projects the MPO can assist with. One area of interest is conducting future intersection or corridor studies at predetermined locations.
May 29, initial discussion with City Public Works City Engineer. The MPO will continue working with Public Works on the identification and prioritization of future transportation planning projects.
On June 17, the MPO met with the Legislative and Local Affairs Committee members of the City Council. This opportunity provided a discussion with council representatives on MPO activities for the upcoming year.
MPO staff attended the July 2 Board of County Commissioners Discussion Meeting to discuss the meeting with County Public Works, discuss proposed MPO projects and continue a dialogue with the Commissioners.
Other scheduled meetings include a City Council Work session on July 6. If needed, additional work sessions will be scheduled to continue discussions.

ALTERNATIVES

The City Council may:

Forward a recommendation of approval of the FYY27 UPWP to the Policy Coordinating Committee which will allow the continuation of federal transportation planning funding to the MPO, or;
Not forward a recommendation of approval of the FYY27 UPWP to the Policy Coordinating Committee. Not forwarding a positive recommendation could jeopardize continued federal transportation planning funding to the MPO.

Attachments

FFY27 UPWP