By Michael Somerby EBS STAFF
BIG
SKY – The Big Sky Resort Area District tax board has some major fish to fry in
the coming months, chiefly educating the public about a potential 1 percent
increase in the resort tax and ensuring area businesses comply with resort tax
collections—such were the topics of discussion at their March 11 open board
meaning.
The
resort tax, which has funded numerous capital improvements and organizational
efforts in the growing mountain town since its 1992 genesis, could potentially
see a temporary uptick effective July 1—a 1 percent increase in the resort tax,
which would be used expressly for critical upgrades to Big Sky’s strained wastewater
treatment facilities.
A
May 5 community vote will decide the fate of such a change, and while payees
classically oppose taxation increases—a phenomenon not unique to Big Sky— BSRAD
District Manager Daniel Bierschwale says the very nature of Big Sky’s resort
tax bares good reason to attempt to palette it.
“What
we want people to understand is that, unlike a county or federal tax, 100
percent of the resort tax collections are used entirely in Big Sky for
community identified needs,” Bierschwale told EBS in a March 10 interview.
A
1 percent increase to the existing 3 percent may generate some frustration, but
the alternative would be Big Sky County Water and Sewer District increasing rates
by as much as two-times the current rates to help offset the cost of the
upgrades should the 1 percent fail to pass the vote in May. A failure to pass
would also have an impact on appropriation shares from the existing 3 percent
collections.
A
number of educational opportunities have been scheduled, including three “plant
update open houses”—held at the BSCWSD office March 24, April 1 and 16,
respectively—along with four “education booths” on April 2, 9, 23 and 30,
operated at the Big Sky Post Office (see pg. 53 for a full roster of dates and
locations).
The
board unanimously approved a first reading of a new compliance ordinance, which
will hold accountable the roughly 1,000 businesses registered to collect tax on
qualifying luxuries, goods and services within the district. The measure aims
to give these businesses the opportunity to provide accurate reporting and full
transfer of funds to BSRAD, which ultimately redistributes those collections
through appropriations each summer.
“It
creates equity in our community for our business owners,” said board member
Ciara Wolfe.
Bierschwale
echoed the sentiment: “Fairness within the community is what we’re striving
for.”
As
of EBS press time, the top of the ordinance document read that the measure is “an
ordinance describing the procedures for enforcement and collection of the Big
Sky resort tax.”
Other
agenda items at the March 11 meeting included discussion of a draft strategic
plan, a blueprint of sorts for BSRAD’s operations.
District
board members commended Bierschwale and his staff for the detail included in
the three-year plan, but caveats of regular revisions and review followed.
“I
like that it’s a very actionable plan,” said BSRAD Chairperson Kevin Germain, “but
strategic plans have a tendency to be stuck on shelves so I look to you, Danny,
to ensure we look at this plan and update it every six months.”
The
board also addressed its “Draft Budget FY21,” with hopes of formal adoption at
the April 8 meeting. Members of the board acknowledged that historic rates of
growth in collections as a result of increases in residency and tourism over
the last decade might slow with current economic trends.
Living
in Big Sky can at times feel insular, but nothing underscored the community’s
tether to the outside world better than a comment from BSRAD Secretary Buz
Davis regarding COVID-19, officially classified as a global pandemic by the
World Health Organization on March 11.
“If
[COVID-19] continues to grow at the rate it’s growing,” Davis said, “we may
need to rethink how to keep our community safe.”
