HELENA — The Helena City Commission is at a crossroads in its discussion on plans to propose a public safety mill levy.
During a city admin meeting on June 24th, the commission weighed its options for moving forward with a levy and ultimately pushed back its timeline for making a decision, originally planned for July 6th.
“We all recognize the need,” stated Mayor of Helena Emily Dean. “The question is the timing.”
According to city officials, both police and fire staff are not able to keep up with current service demands and won’t be able to meet future demands. The proposed levy would fund adding additional staff.
“I don’t want to rush something that is this important,” said city commissioner Ben Rigby.
Originally pushing for the levy to be on the November ballot, the commission is now considering waiting until March of 2027.
“So I'm thinking about those timings for the voters, and I think it is really important how we educate them,” said city commissioner Julia Gustafson. “It is a super noisy election season, and those are real costs to compete with.”
However, there are challenges with delaying putting it to voters this November.
It could require a special election, which would add additional costs, a difference of about $30,000.
Additionally, construction of Fire Station 3 is expected to be completed by April of 2027, and the city would delay being able to staff it.
According to city data, in 2025, 49% of all fire incidents occurred simultaneously with another emergency.
“If we had multiple significant incidents, we’re in a position right now where we could not respond, and what I think about is people's lives on the line,” said Helena city manager Alana Lake.
The commission will revisit the topic at the next city admin meeting on July 15th and will be open for public comment.
