GREAT FALLS — Cascade County commissioners adopted their fiscal year budget Thursday, approving a spending plan that carries a deficit of more than $13.4 million driven largely by deferred expenses and the expiration of federal relief funds.
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Nearly $1.8 million of that shortfall came from the public safety budget — a trend Commissioner Joe Briggs said has been building for the past two years.
Briggs said a levy passed in 2022 is now maxed out and that legislative changes have further impacted funding. To address the gap, he identified a way to move money within existing accounts.
"I was looking at it, there was a way to solve two technical problems with one shot, and that was to move $1.8 million out of the voted public levy. You still use it for public safety by transferring it into the 2301 Public Safety Master account, which also then offsets the operating loss for this year," Briggs said.
Briggs cautioned the move is a one-time correction, and that cuts to public safety or other non-mandated services may lie ahead.
County budget officer Trista Besich noted the overall deficit figure can be misleading, as it is made up of several factors including deferred expenses.
Commissioners also approved pay raises for elected county officials — 4 percent for the county attorney and 3.5 percent for all others — established a large taxpayer reserve fund, and set county tax mill levies.
A handful of residents attended the meeting in person or via Zoom to share concerns, with some expressing frustration over what they described as a lack of transparency in the budgeting process.
Commissioner Eric Hinebauch acknowledged the criticism.
"We need to continue to work on how we communicate the budget to the public. I think it's a work in progress. I think we can improve the way we communicate and explain this because it's not easy to explain a seventy-plus-million-dollar budget," Hinebauch said.
The budget is available for public viewing on the Cascade County Commission website.
