Million-dollar manpower: What the Helena fire, police staffing levy might look like

The cheapest tier at $4.5 million asks for the following:

• 16 firefighters, each costing $149,047
• One fire captain, costing $171,151
• One fire lieutenant, costing $161,558
• Four patrol officers, each costing $130,337
• Two community resource officers, each costing $130,337
• One crash investigator, costing $100,189

Tier two, at $5.4 million, raises it to:

• 19 firefighters, each costing $149,047
• One fire captain, costing $171,151
• One fire lieutenant, costing $161,558
• Four patrol officers, each costing $130,337
• Two community resource officers, each costing $130,337
• One crash investigator, costing $100,189
• Two detectives, each costing $130,337

Finally, the most expensive tier three of $6.2 million asks:

• 22 firefighters, each costing $149,047
• One fire captain, costing $171,151
• One fire lieutenant, costing $161,558
• Six patrol officers, each costing $130,337
• Two community resource officers, each costing $130,337
• One crash investigator, costing $100,189
• Two detectives, each costing $130,337

For tier three, a $100,000 property would pay $52.02 more in annual taxes, while a $300,000 home would pay $156.07 and a $600,000 home would pay $360.19.

After around two hours of discussion, Mayor Emily Dean favored tier three, saying tier two would get Helena where it needs to be today but urging the Commission to also think long-term.

As inflation rises and Montana law limits how cities can use mills, she said it was best for Helena to assume its current buying power would shrink with time.

“No one is coming to save us, except for ourselves,” Dean said.

In order for a levy to appear on ballots, the Commission would need to approve it via resolution on July 6, giving the city time to submit the initiative to the Lewis and Clark County Elections Office by Aug. 20.

It would cost around $20,000 to put the language on the November general election ballot and at least $38,000 on a special election ballot, staff told the Commission on Wednesday. That doesn’t include education initiatives that the city would need to sway voters.

State of fire and police

Helena has 36 approved fire personnel but can only staff 33 at the moment due to “budgetary constraints,” the city previously told the Independent Record. With only seven firefighters on staff at a time, its second station can’t deploy multiple response teams at once.

Despite a $7 million third station on track to be completed by June 2027, there isn’t enough manpower to use it for anything other than administrative space or training, Fire Chief Jon Campbell previously said.

Staff strain has meant passing up calls for help when all units are too busy to respond, firefighters have said.

In the realm of police, HPD currently has a budget for 54 sworn officers, a number Police Chief Brett Petty said has hardly changed since he joined in 2003. Meanwhile, Helena's population has grown 34% since 2000.

Though all positions will soon be filled, the newly sworn officers will still need training and mentorship. Fully staffed doesn’t mean properly staffed, Petty previously said, and he’s long held the opinion that HPD needs more officers to respond to Helena’s growing size.

If Helena had the national average number of police officers per 1,000 residents, it would have a staff of 82 police officers, according to city documents.

Making the pitch

With how squeezed Helenans feel, the levy campaign will need to be strategic, staff said. Fire and police were recommended to stay on the same item to prevent “splitting,” something Helena’s fire union president and lieutenant firefighter Dave Maslowski disagreed with.

The city last went for a staffing levy in 2024, the same year voters narrowly approved the bond for Helena’s third fire station.

While the station was approved, the staffing levy it ran next to — which would have added 15 firefighters, eight police officers and a crash investigator — was not.

In Maslowski’s opinion, the levy failed because police and fire were the same expensive item, he said Wednesday. He believed dividing the departments into two smaller asks would feel less daunting to taxpayers.

“If we want a shot at having anywhere near the amount of resources that the community needs today and in the future, we've got to push a levy forward,” Maslowski said.

President and CEO of the Helena Area Chamber of Commerce Callie Aschim said education would need to be a coordinated effort.

“Public safety is critical to that foundation,” Aschim said. “It plays a direct role in our business confidence, workforce attraction and retention, and the overall economic vitality of our community.”

People can feel sympathetic about an empty fire station, but police staffing may need more campaigning to show the need, City Commissioner Julia Gustafson said.

As of Wednesday, no final decision was made on pursuing a levy or how much the city might seek.