HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-24-26 Public Comment - R. Muldowney - Letter to City CommissionersFrom:City of Bozeman, MT
To:Bozeman Public Comment
Subject:[EXTERNAL]*NEW SUBMISSION* Public Comment Form - City Clerk
Date:Wednesday, June 24, 2026 2:47:22 PM
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Public Comment Form - City Clerk
Submission #:4908042
IP Address:23.234.72.117
Submission Date:06/24/2026 2:47
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Full Name
Robert Muldowney
Email
bobmuldowney@gmail.com
Phone
(406) 595-4865
Comments
Mike / Alex please see attached letter to City Commissioners as well as my comments from last night, thx bob m
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Commission_Remarks_June24_v5 FINAL.pdf
Thank you,
City Of Bozeman
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Commission Remarks — Downtown URD — June 2026 Page 1
Commission Remarks — Downtown Urban Renewal
District
City of Bozeman City Commission | June 24, 2026 | Estimated delivery: 3:00
▶ Opening — credit the 1995 Commission; state the cap timeline
Robert Muldowney, Baxter Meadows
Good evening, Mayor Morrison, Deputy Mayor Fischer and Commissioners Bode, Madgic, Sweeney.
I want to credit the Commission that sat in 1995 for building a deliberate safeguard into Ordinance
1409: once annual tax increment — net of bond debt service — exceeded an inflation-adjusted $750k,
the excess was to be returned to the taxing bodies, including the General Fund. The 15-year time
trigger activating that mechanism arrived in FY2012. However, the district’s net annual increment
did not actually exceed the target cap until FY2021. Since then the excess has grown each year so that
in FY2025 the four-year cumulative total is about $2.4m.
▶ The process question — interlocal vs. ordinance
In 2011, the City entered an interlocal agreement with Gallatin County and the School District. The
County and School District do receive their proportional shares of Remaining Funds above debt
service — that is appropriate and documented.
But Section 2 of that agreement has the City pledge its own proportional share permanently back into
the TIF fund — denying the General Fund the return that Ordinance 1409 required.
▶ Statutory authority — MCA §7-15-4221(2)
MCA §7-15-4221(2) states that an urban renewal plan may be modified by ordinance — not by
interlocal agreement, not by contract. An ordinance requires public notice, a public hearing, and a
formal legislative vote. I have not been able to locate such an ordinance in the public record. My
understanding is a contract between governments can implement an ordinance but it cannot
override one.
▶ The result — three questions
The result is a fund balance of $9.7 million — 4.6 times the outstanding bond. Under MCA §7-15-
4292, this URD terminates upon provision for payment of that bond. I would ask this Commission to
formally examine that option and fund needed fire and police, as these funds are the mill levy tax
dollars that were diverted from the General Fund.
Commission Remarks — Downtown URD — June 2026 Page 2
If not dissolution, then Ordinance 1409 is clear: the inflation-adjusted overages above the cap belong
in the General Fund. As previously noted, under MCA §7-15-4221(2), only an ordinance can change
that. An interlocal agreement cannot.
Therefore before $8 million is committed to a parking arrangement described in a single sentence
with no named partner and no project detail — MCA §7-15-4288 requires TIF expenditures to be for
specifically enumerated eligible costs. MCA §7-15-4202(3), amended by the Legislature just last year
in 2025, states that TIF laws must be used to encourage the development or redevelopment of
blighted areas. Downtown Bozeman can no longer be considered blighted. Ordinance 1409 itself
requires that specific actions be proposed in detail for community review.
▶ Closing observation
Bozeman now operates six TIF districts — five urban renewal districts and one technology district. In
each, growth in property values above the frozen base year is captured by the TIF fund rather than
any monies flowing to the General Fund. None of that appreciated property value contributes to
police, to fire, or to the services ALL residents depend on. Unfairly that burden falls to those outside
the TIF boundaries. Residents deserve to understand that arrangement clearly before any new mill
levy request is placed before them.
Thank you.
Delivery Notes
Sources — Section 1: Ordinance 1409 Finance section; uploaded DURD_General_Fund_Obligation_Revised.docx (14-
year ACFR table, FY2012–FY2025, fund balance chain verified).
Sources — Section 2: 2011 Interlocal Agreement, Section 2 (City pledge-back); Laserfiche ID 44679; May 2, 2011
Commission meeting (consent agenda).
Sources — Section 3: MCA §7-15-4221(2) — confirmed in project files.
Sources — Section 4: MCA §7-15-4292 (termination); MCA §7-15-4288 (eligible costs); MCA §7-15-4202(3) (blight
mandate, amended Ch. 55, L. 2025); FY2027 Work Plan — parking: one sentence, no partner named; Ordinance 1409 —
'specific actions in detail for community review.'
Sources — Section 5: FY2025 ACFR — TIF bonds outstanding: Downtown $2,112,000; Northeast $1,095,557; Midtown
$5,575,000. Six districts confirmed: Montana DOR 2024 Master TIF List.
Precision note: Six districts capture TIF increment (growth above frozen base). The frozen base value does continue to
generate general fund revenue for all taxing bodies — only the incremental growth is diverted. This distinction is not
raised at the podium but should be understood by the speaker.
Follow-up letter: Full text: MCA §7-15-4221(2); §7-15-4292; §7-15-4288; §7-15-4202(3). Ordinance 1409 Finance
section. 14-year ACFR table. Series 2020 bond terms.