Authorize Community Transformation (ACT),  which is an organization promoting passage of a local option authority in the 2017 legislative session, asked the City Council at its October 17, 2016, work session to endorse the initiative.  If approved by Billings voters, a local option tax of up to three cents per dollar (3%) on specific goods or services for no more than a decade, would be used to fund specific capital improvements.  The City Council would appoint a committee to recommend projects, as well as being the agency to authorize the projects and their placement on a ballot.

More than 50 groups and individuals from several cities have endorsed the proposed ACT initiative, including Big Sky Economic Development, the Billings Chamber of Commerce and the Billings Tourism Improvement District.   An updated list is available on ACT website at www.ACTmt.org.

• There is at least one other initiative regarding local option under consideration for the 2017 legislature.  It is being proposed by the Montana Infrastructure Coalition, a group that proposes measures such as amending the population lid on a Montana resort tax that currently enables resort cities with populations of less than 5,500 to vote on a local option tax of up to 3 cents.  The City Council recently agreed to join the Montana Infrastructure Coalition as a full member at a cost of $5,000.  At some point in the future, the two groups may need to combine their efforts, or the City Council may chose to support both groups to see which can garner sponsors and support during the legislative session.
  
  For now, City Council may:
• Approve endorsement of ACT's proposed  local option authority, or;
• Postpone action on an endorsement; or
• Not endorse the proposal.

A 3-cent local option tax is expected to raise about $47 million annually in Billings, which has a population of about 110,000 persons, but is regularly visited by 300,000-500,000 residents from other parts of Montana and the High Plains and many of the four million/year visitors to Yellowstone National Park.  Exact projects and details of the use of funds will be provided by ACT in the future.

Staff recommends that the City Council endorse the ACT local option initiative.