New law may ease county budgeting

A bill that passed quietly amid this year’s legislative session maneuvering on property tax reform has the potential to reshape how counties and cities fund their annual budgets.

Montana’s Senate Bill 117 garnered little attention before or since being signed into law by Gov. Greg Gianforte on May 8. But it promises somewhat higher taxes for property owners and relief for local governments, including Jefferson County, long hemmed in by budget caps.

Since 2001, local governments have only been able to increase their core budget each year by half the inflation rate, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Starting in 2026, the new law allows budgets to grow by the full rate of inflation, as long as the three-year average is no higher than four percent.