Belgrade City Council

CITY OF BELGRADE BELGRADE WORKSHOP MINUTES BELGRADE LIBRARY— COMMUNITY ROOM February 9th, 2026 6: 00 pm This meeting was open to the public and attended in person. Mayor Michael D. Meis called the meeting to order. Council Members in attendance were Jason Guffey, Matt McGee, Jim Simon, Kristine Menicucci, and Deputy Mayor Renae Mattimoe. City staff in attendance were City Manager Neil Cardwell, Assistant City Manager Greg Tryon, City Attorney Kyla Murray, City Clerk Camille Gregory, Executive Assistant Dana Jambor, Executive Finance Director Charity VanKirk, Chief of Police Dustin Lensing, Municipal Court Judge Chris Gregory, Director of Community and Economic Development Katharine King, Public Works Director Camaree Uljua, City Engineer Joe Hauck, and Manager of Information Technology Justin Clevidence. Others in attendance were Jay Witwer. ACTION: Deputy Mayor Mattimoe moved to excuse Council Member Bell. Council Member Menicucci seconded the Motion. All voted aye, Motion carried unanimously. DISCUSSION AGENDA Discuss the Funding Framework for the Belgrade Forestry Assessment Director of Parks, Trails, and Recreation Green presented a brief PowerPoint presentation on the funding framework for the Belgrade forestry assessment and its importance. As part of that presentation, he discussed how to assess fees. Green presented two alternatives for how to calculate fees: By lot size Fee is proportional to the lot size, with the impact measured by the physical property size. Zoning. Fees use zoning to weigh impacts on the forestry program. Council Member Guffey asked what the definition of an `urban forest' was. Green answered that the term ` urban forest' refers to the big picture process of looking at a city' s trees overall, or as a whole. Page 1 of 3  Council Member McGee asked if the $ 200, 000 budget was to maintain or to grow the urban forest. Green answered that the $ 200,000 budget was a benchmark to perform calculations to show what fees could look like. However, the final program would go through a budgeting process and need final approval from the Council. Council Member Menicucci asked what happens if the current trees aren' t the preferred species. Green answered that the Forestry Department would look into the cost/ benefit of tree species selection for new trees. However, a large mature tree will not be cut down regardless of its species, unless it poses a danger to the public. There was some discussion among the Council regarding the pros and cons of both alternatives. Mayor Meis called three times public comment. There was none Discuss Impact of Levy Changes on Police Department Operations Chief of Police Lensing presented a PowerPoint presentation on the impacts that the State Legislature' s levy changes will have on Belgrade Police Department' s operations. Chief Lensing noted that the Police Department' s current budget is over$ 5, 000, 000. This includes a significant portion that comes from the Public Safety Levy, as well as the General Fund. However, the State' s new levy changes will mean a projected loss of$350,000 to the Belgrade Police Department' s operating budget. To address this shortfall, Chief Lensing offered several options. Included amongst those options were: A Public Safety Levy Campaign Restores revenue capacity Aligns services with growth Incremental Service Reductions Gradual reduction in service levels over time Could result in worse response time for service calls Reduction of Non- Essential City Positions ( Code Enforcement) Temporary relief to the General Fund This task often shifts demand for parking tickets and code enforcement back to police officers The Council discussed the options presented by Chief Lensing and the impacts they could have. Amongst those discussions was the idea of lobbying for a mill levy. However, the earliest that such a levy could realistically get on the ballot would be November of 2027, and a 2027 levy Page 2 of 3 would not go into effect until a year and a half later. Thus, such a levy would not address short- term concerns. City Manager Cardwell mentioned that whenever he travels, he gets a lot of comments about how wonderful the Belgrade Police Chief is. He noted that Chief Lensing cares about Belgrade and makes a great effort to make the community feel heard and safe. Cardwell further noted that this issue is a huge weight on the Chief' s shoulders. PUBLIC FORUM Mayor Meis called for public comment. There being none, the Public Forum was closed. ADJOURN Belgrade Council Member Simon moved to adjourn. Deputy Mayor Mattimoe seconded the Motion. Mayor Meis called for a vote. All voted aye, Motion carried unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 7: 47 p. m. la\at WittilA Michael Mcis- Mayor Attest: _ _ 1' l`_ . III Z- Ibur. o t.. tir&o t < pvirki l . yor Camille Gre Gregory, o Cityt l; ' ' r:` r Approve as to Form: P`\, 1 111. 1.. err) V" t```% Ky a urray, City Attorney Page 3 of 3