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Determination of Permissive Levy for Group Benefits
FY 2010 Final Entitlement Share Payments2009 Property Reappraisal Memo from Department of Revenue
IMPLEMENTATION OF HB-645 - FEDERAL STIMULUS MONEYFor information on how the Department of Commerce will allocate the federal stimulus funds, go to this Department of Commerce website. Energy Efficiency Block Grants for Montana's Small Cities and CountiesAs most of you know from earlier advisories and press releases, the federal Department of Energy (DOE) recently released stimulus funding for energy efficiency block grants to local governments. Almost $4.4 million for energy efficiency block grants will pass directly from DOE to Montana's major cities and counties. Funding criteria and program standards have been developed by DOE for this formula-driven portion of the program. A second avenue of funding at $5.7 million will be administered by the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and is intended for Montana's remaining cities and counties. This amount is derived from a Department of Energy stipulation that not less than 60 percent of the total award to the state energy offices (DEQ) be allocated to Montana's smaller cities, towns and counties. Montana State Energy Program Award: $9,593,500 Local Government Allocation (60 percent): $5,756,100 State Energy Program Amount (40 percent): $3,837,400 The DEQ has discretion over the 40 percent ($3.8 million) for administration and other expenditures, but expects to allocate about $2 million in additional direct grants or technical assistance to local governments. Funding criteria and program standards for grants to Montana's smaller cities and counties are being developed by the DEQ. Criteria and standards generally will mirror those developed by DOE for the formula grant program. Montana-Specific Program Considerations The following is a listing of Montana-specific program design considerations for grants to local governments through DEQ.
The DEQ plans to offer technical assistance to local governments not awarded grants, perhaps in the form of energy audits and/or enrollment in the state energy tracking system. Deadlines and Timelines: The deadline for DEQ to apply to the Department of Energy for release of funding is June 25, 2009. The basic program design for the EECBG must be submitted at that time and the above considerations are expected to be incorporated into the application. Consequently, a deadline has not yet been determined for the small cities and counties to submit applications to DEQ. Local governments should immediately begin the process of selecting potential projects for the grants. The application process may begin as early as August/September, 2009. Once the competitive grant applications are submitted to DEQ, the Selection Committee will prioritize the applications and award grants. Local governments must commit funding within 12 months after the grant is awarded and complete projects within 36 months. Website: The DEQ website contains current information about the grants and is available at: http://deq.mt.gov/Recovery/energy/nonFormulaGrants.asp (Posted 06/02/2009)
FY2010 Inflation Factor for Mill Levy CalculationThe Department of Revenue has calculated the inflation factor to be used in the mill levy calculation as prescribed by 15-10-420, MCA for FY2010. Under that statute the Department of Revenue is required to:
"calculate one-half of the average rate of inflation for the prior 3 years by using the consumer price index, U.S. city average, all urban consumers, using the 1982-84 base of 100, as published by the bureau of labor statistics of the United States department of labor".
The rate of inflation for the three years prior to 2009 can be measured from December 2005 to December 2008. The U.S. City average CPI-U, not seasonally adjusted, was 196.8 for December 2005 and 210.228 for December 2008. These values can be found at http://data.bls.gov.
The average annual inflation rate over this period is 2.2245%. That is, if you grow the value of 196.8 three times at 2.2245% each time, the result will be 210.228.
One-half of 2.2245% is 1.112%. The value to use in the mill levy calculation for fiscal year 2010 is 1.112%. This is an decrease from the 1.672% value used in the mill levy calculation for fiscal year 2009. If you have any other questions please contact Vern Fogle at 444-1821. (Posted 04/17/09) ********
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Montana League of Cities and Towns * 208 N. Montana Avenue - Suite 201 Helena, Montana 59601 * 406 442-8768 P.O. Box 1704 * Helena, Montana 59624-1704 * E-mail: mlct@mt.net |
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