BOZEMAN — Dollars? Mills? What’s the difference? Well, Bozeman finance officials say the difference means a budget deficit for city safety services.

"We had two mills in our general fund for police and fire staffing, and those—compared to what we budgeted for fiscal year 2026, came in a lot lower as a result of those changes," says city finance director, Melissa Hodgett.

HB20, once passed, changed the way levies are expressed, from mills to dollars.

Mills rise at a rate higher than inflation. Whereas dollars restrict levies to a fixed one-dollar amount plus a small percent of inflation.

City officials say these changes dropped the total taxable value in the city by 9%--creating a deficit of $1.7 million.

"So instead of $9.5 million, is what we expected and budgeted, we’re expecting ab

See Full Page