Staff recommends that the City Council approve on Second Reading the attached Ordinance amending the City Charter by repealing the existing Charter section 1.05.1 and replacing the same with a new Section 1.05.1  which establishes a permanent, non-cumulative 60 mill levy to fund police, fire and related public safety expenses.

Under Section 1.02 of the City of Billings Charter, there is a 74 mill levy limit. Any mill levy increase above that amount must be approved by City voters.Charter amendments can be accomplished by several methods and are governed by state law. One method is by direction of the City Council through an ordinance as required by section 7-3-103(2)(b), Montana Code Annotated (MCA). After directing staff to proceed with such an ordinance in May, on June 8, 2020, the Council conducted a First Reading and Public Hearing and then approved an ordinance which proposes an amendment to the existing City Charter section 1.05.1.This amendment proposes to repeal the existing Charter section 1.05.1 that funds public safety and replace it with a new, permanent, non-cumulative mill levy. The existing levy approved by voters in 2004 is capped at $8.2 million.The proposed levy is capped at 60 mills. 60 mills in 2020 is estimated to raise $12,240,000 and therefore generating more money to support police, fire and related services.As the value of a mill changes, the amount of money raised will also change. This proposed Charter amendment will help offset inflation and thus help the City's public safety departments retain their current levels of service.

In order for any levy request and voter approval of such to impact the fiscal year 2021 budget, approval of the attached ordinance on Second Reading must occur on the June 22, 2020, regular Council business meeting. Also scheduled for this same meeting as a separate agenda item is a Resolution approving the actual ballot language to be submitted to the Yellowstone County Elections Administrator for submission to voters at a Special Mail Ballot election to be held on September 15, 2020.

City Council may:

• Approve the attached Ordinance on Second Reading which repeals and replaces the existing Public Safety Mill Levy in City Charter Section 1.05.1, or;
• Disapprove the Ordinance on Second Reading

If voters approve the proposed City Charter amendment, it is estimated to generate an additional $4,000,000 to help support police, fire and related services.