Belgrade's City Council held a workshop on June 8 to evaluate proposed changes to the city's annual street maintenance fee, currently set at a flat $205 per parcel regardless of property type. Ryan Graf, a senior consultant from AE2S, presented a methodology that would maintain the residential rate but shift other properties to a trip-generation model based on vehicle traffic data from the Institute of Transportation Engineers. Under the baseline recommendation, a typical commercial property of 5,000 square feet would pay approximately $1,685 annually, while industrial properties would pay less per square foot due to lower traffic generation. The total revenue target for the street fund is $1.6 million for fiscal year 2027, which covers operations, maintenance, and three new staff positions identified through benchmarking. Capital improvement costs were excluded from the baseline recommendation due to variability in the capital plan.
Council members expressed significant concern about the impact on commercial properties. Council Member McGee stated, "We've asked for commercial businesses to move in for 20 years. So I definitely worry about that." Council Member Minakuchi noted that Belgrade's proposed commercial rate would exceed Bozeman's and worried the fee could push business owners to operate in neighboring communities. Several council members suggested modestly raising the single-family residential rate, which has remained at $205 for two years despite inflation, to reduce pressure on commercial sectors. City Manager Neil noted that Belgrade's residential rate is roughly half that of comparable communities.
The council directed staff to develop revised options, including possible rate caps on commercial square footage, blended commercial-industrial categories, and scenarios incorporating a modest residential increase. No formal vote was taken. In a separate matter, the council unanimously endorsed the staff's Alternative C proposal for restructuring the forestry assessment fee, which would reduce or maintain fees for 93 percent of properties under half an acre. The forestry fee formal vote is expected in early July.