The Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP) for the Billings MPO (Metropolitan Planning Organization) is going through the final steps of being fully approved by the City of Billings, Yellowstone County, the Planning Board and the PCC (Policy Planning Committee which serves as the local MPO). The LRTP lays out the immediate and long term – –  20 years —  transportation projects that are considered important by the community, and prioritizes them.

The estimated cost of the proposed and recommended projects for the Billings MPO total, from 2024-33, $443,062,726. From 2034-45 they total $491,140,675. The estimated available revenue ($1.251 billion) is greater than the estimated total costs ($934.2 million) to implement the committed and recommended projects for the 2023 LRTP, which means the plan is fiscally responsible.

The Draft 2023 LRTP, which was presented to, and approved by Yellowstone County Commissioners, last week, includes  updates  to current transportation conditions, forecasts future population impact on the transportation system, models future traffic volumes through to 2045, and includes transportation project priorities. It was prepared for the City of Billings by Kittelson & Assoc. and DOWL.

The lion’s share of the 416 projects included in the 20-year Billings MPO plan are for multi-use trails and bicycle trails with 86 multi-use trails  and 124 bicycle trails. The next largest category is 81 roadway projects, which includes widening, reconstruction, space allocation, pavement preservation, signage, bridge rehabilitation, railroad crossings, pavement of gravel roads, etc.;  followed by 56 intersection projects, which includes safety studies, new stop signs new traffic signals, new roundabout, turn lanes, ADA upgrades and interchange layouts. Fifteen Congestion Management projects are included, which involve signal timing signal equipment, signs and warning systems. There are 22 Safe Route to School projects which involve projects identified in the 2022 school plan update; followed by 18 transit projects with include transit facilities, improvement, bus replacements, electric vehicle charging stations, and other upgrades.

Of the 416 projects in the plan, 63 are committed projects which are already included as existing projects in the Montana STIP, the MPO TIP, or the City of Billings CIP. Projects prioritized as “recommended” are those expected to be fully funded by year 2045. Illustrative projects are not expected to be funded by 2045 due to fiscal constraint but could be included in the adopted Long Range Transportation Plan if additional resources become available.

Funding comes from a combination of sources including federal, state and local revenues. The report explains “As transportation technologies continue to evolve, funding sources that were once lucrative, such as gas taxes, may become less relevant. To supplement and eventually replace obsolete funding sources, there are several funding sources that are emerging, including congestion pricing, mileage-based fees, variable parking fees, and electric vehicle charging taxes.”

Charging tolls is an option for heavily used roadways to reduce demand and to raise revenue.

Another future source for more funding is Mileage-Based Fees — also known as “Vehicle Miles Traveled” (VMT) fees. This funding source charges drivers directly for each mile traveled, either through odometer readings at annual vehicle registrations or GPS-based systems. Oregon and California have piloted mileage-based systems since the 2000’s, and other states are considering them.

Variable Parking Fees are similar to congestion pricing, charging fees for vehicular parking based on location, availability, and the time of day.

Electric Vehicle Charging Tax is emerging as a funding source. It levies a tax on electricity delivered to public electric vehicle charging stations. The Montana State Legislature passed a kilowatt hours tax in 2023. The state is researching replacements for the gas tax. At present, the gas tax is the primary source of non-federal funding for roads.

The current annual allocation for the Billings#-Yellowstone County MPO is $65,587,858. The 22-year revenue projection is $1,251,530,000. Using the 22-year revenue projection, the average annual allocation is estimated at $56,880,000. The report stated that the average annual revenue projection is anticipated to increase due to changes in federal funding programs. “However, it is important to note that federal earmarks, which were a previous revenue source, are no longer expected.”

Among some of the significant projects likely to emerge in the nxt few years:

Roadway Projects:

—Downtown 2 Way Conversion of 2 way streets. The one way to two?way conversion moves toward a consistent network of two?way streets within downtown Billings. 2028, $7,400,000

— 21st Street Underpass Improvements. The 21st Street Underpass has a low clearance of only 8.5 feet, limiting the vehicles that can pass through this route. With the congestion of 27th nearby, the City will increase the clearance to standard minimum of 14 feet to provide a route for emergency vehicles or larger commercial vehicles, especially during train crossings on 27th. 2028, $11,850

—90 Incident Management will install variable message signs and road closure gates on Interstate 90 from Billings to Three Forks – will aid in communicating road conditions, accidents, or other important information about the roadway ahead. 2028, $5,600,000

— Wicks Lane – Main to Bitteroot design for the reconstruction of Wicks Lane and construction of sidewalks. Wicks Lane is an arterial that carries a volume of traffic that would be more efficient and safe if the road was reconstructed as a three lane section with multimodal facilities. 2028, $2,200,000

— Billings Bypass – Five Mile Road to US87 Construction of connection from Five Mile Road to US87, 2028, $16,207,400

— Inner Belt Loop Road Construction, 2028, $14,620,400

— 1st Avenue N – 9th to RR Crossing Major Reconstruction, 2028, $15,209,100

—Billings Bypass – Johnson Lane Interchange to RR Overpass Construction of connection from interchange to railroad overpass, 2028,$9,252,800

— Billings Bypass – Railroad Overpass Construction of new bridge over railroad, 2028, $5,301,800

Intersection Projects:

—Billings Bypass – Johnson Lane Interchange Reconstruction of existing interchange, 2028, $45,204,600

— Exposition Drive and 1st Avenue N. Intersection improvements, 2028, $10,221,500

— Zoo Drive Improvements – Safety improvements, 2028, $5,238,300

— Airport Road and Main Street – Billings Intersection improvements, 2028, $10,968,100

— Rimrock & 62nd St W Intersection Improvements – Roundabout, 2028, $7,545,300

— Lockwood Interchange – Billings Reconstruction of existing interchange to a diverging diamond design, 2045, $45,000,000

— West Billings Interchange Construct additional EB and WB mainline lanes through interchange, modify vertical curve, reconstruct bridge segments (Laurel Rd and Mullowney) and restripe WB off-ramp at West Billings Interchange, 2045, $26 million.

Congestion Management

—27th Street RRXing ITS Signage and Advanced Warning System, Implement a signage and advanced warning system on 27th Street to inform transportation users of crossing delays due to incoming and stopped trains, 2033, $671,958

Pedestrian:

—a pedestrian grade separated crossing across Exposition Drive between 1st Avenue North and 6th Avenue North in 2028, $4 million.

— Sidewalk on Old Hardin Rd between Becraft Ln and Dickie Rd, 2033, $1.9 million

— Highway 3 Pedestrian/ Bicycle Underpasses as needed for multi-use trail connection across Zimmerman Trail, and north-south connections across Highway 3 for future development. 2045, $2.2 million

Bicycle Trails:

— Terry Ave/ Howard Ave/ 24th St W. neighborhood bikeway, 2028, $240,000

— 1st Avenue N. Bicycle Lane from N 13th St. to N. 36th St, 2033, $111,229

— Minnesota/ 1st Ave S Bicycle Lane from N 13th St to State Ave., 2033, $198,127

— Montana Ave. Bicycle Lane from N 18th St to Division St., 2033, $115,574

— Jellison Rd Bicycle Lane from Blue Creek Rd to Aldona Rd, 2033, $68,649

Trail Projects:

—Skyline Trail Multi Use Path, 2028, $4,121,400

—Stagecoach Trail is an 8?foot wide shared use pathway approximately 5,300 lineal feet that will run on the east side of Zimmerman Trail from Rimrock Road to Highway 3. This trail is an essential part of the Marathon Loop and will provide a connection from the top of the Rimrocks to the valley. 2028, $3,500,000

—6th Ave N Multiuse Trail will add a trail on 6th Ave North from Exposition Drive to N 13th. 2028, $500,000

— 25th Street Pedestrian Bridge over the Railroad Tracks at 25th Street between Montana and Minnesota Avenues. 2028, $1,250,000

— Coburn Rd Multi-use Trail from Old Hardin Rd to South extent of Coburn Rd; spot improvement at Old Hardin Rd and at Rosebud Lane, 2045, $3,816,648

Transit Projects

—Metroplex expansion/ interior remodel, 2028, $1,600,000

— MET Transit Rollingstock/ Buses Replacement Vehicles, 2028, $4,045,600

— Fixed Route Redesign to provide a better rider experience across the service area without requiring more funding. The redesigned network would achieve this by revising parts of the current route network so that buses spend more time on corridors with high demand, by reducing or eliminating loops, and by providing improved connectivity between transit-oriented land uses

During a three-day swing through eastern Montana on his 56 County Tour, Governor Greg Gianforte visited new and expanding small businesses in Custer, Rosebud, and Treasure counties.

“Thanks to hardworking Montanans, we’ve seen a record number of new businesses created in our state in the last two years,” Gov. Gianforte said. “We’ll continue to foster a climate where businesses can thrive and create greater prosperity for more Montanans.”

In Rosebud County, the governor visited Wandering Acres, a farm and floral business growing flowers for weddings, special events, and floral subscription services.

This spring, owner Tamara Robertson partnered with a local business to open The Flower Bar in Forsyth, offering fresh flowers on-the-go for customers. Robertson also hosts groups to the farm to build their own bouquets.

“On their fourth-generation ranch, Tamara combined her love for flowers and her knack for customer service to create Wandering Acres,” Gov. Gianforte said. “Now, she’s expanding her young business to town, adding vibrancy to Forsyth.”

In Miles City, Gov. Gianforte visited Troggy’s Trailer Repair, owned by U.S. Navy veteran Tyler Trogden. Trogden secured a loan to purchase the trailer repair shop last year.

“The thing I love about entrepreneurs like Tyler is that they’re willing to take a risk,” Gov. Gianforte said. “He’s already paying down his debt and hired two employees to work in his shop.”

Troggy’s Trailer Repair is one of 53,000 new businesses created in Montana in 2022, a record for the state. In the governor’s first year in office, Montanans created 51,500 new businesses, eclipsing previous records by more than 12,000 businesses.

In Treasure County, the governor visited the Ogren Ranch, owned and operated by the Ogren family. Partnering with a local meat processor, the fourth-generation ranchers bring hormone-free beef to market on their online storefront, launched this spring.

“It’s no secret – Montana beef is the best beef in the world,” Gov. Gianforte said. “It’s great to see ranchers like the Ogrens bring pasture to plate right here in Treasure County, supporting jobs and strengthening our economy.”

To help small businesses, farms, and ranches, the state legislature increased the business equipment tax exemption from $100,000 in 2021 to $1 million, eliminating the tax burden for 5,000 Montana businesses.

Creating a better climate for business development and job creation, including cutting taxes, overhauling regulations, and encouraging entrepreneurship, is a central element of Governor Gianforte’s Montana Comeback Plan.

Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen and 14 other state attorneys general are demanding answers from Blackrock-linked mutual fund directors as to potential conflicts of interest between the mutual funds they are managing. They are questioning whether BlackRock should continue as an investment adviser to the mutual funds in a letter sent last week. The attorneys general also raised concerns over the company’s Environmental, Social, and Governance (“ESG”) investments.

“Six of the nine Mutual Fund directors have a relationship with BlackRock as either a BlackRock employee or a board member of a company where BlackRock owns more than 5% and in many cases is the first or second largest shareholder,” Attorney General Knudsen wrote. “That financial entanglement between the Mutual Fund directors and BlackRock undermines the principles of independence undergirding the Investment Company Act of 1940, as well as state law principles of independence.”

The letter raises a number of concerns including financial relationships that could undermine director independence and over-boarding; whether there has been sufficient disclosure, oversight, and investigation into potential conflicts of interest by BlackRock as investment adviser to the mutual funds; and the actions of the directors related to BlackRock’s public commitments to use client assets for the purpose of advancing ESG goals rather than for the sole purpose of maximizing shareholder value.

BlackRock’s ESG commitments to push the political goals of programs like Climate Action 100+ and the Net Zero Asset Managers raise serious concerns over BlackRock’s duty to act exclusively for the financial benefit of its shareholders and may have cost mutual funds returns. For example, Attorney General Knudsen questions about BlackRock’s decision to divest from coal when the seven largest coal companies in the United States have averaged a share price increase of 981 percent since July 2020.

“BlackRock’s activist commitment to divest from coal may have adversely affected these funds and others like them. At the very least, BlackRock’s failure to increase its investments in coal may have caused these funds to forgo substantial growth. We seek to understand whether BlackRock disclosed material information and whether you analyzed that information,” Attorney General Knudsen wrote.

In addition to the concerns raised in the letter, Attorney General Knudsen is requesting written responses to seven questions listed in the letter to use to determine “the future course of our actions”:

1. What percentage of your annual income comes from serving as a director of the boards of BlackRock Mutual Funds? Related to this, what percentage of your professional time do you presently devote to serving on the boards of these mutual funds?

2. If you are a director of a public company in which BlackRock owns more than 5% of the shares, please describe your interactions with BlackRock in your role at these other companies, including whether BlackRock Investment Stewardship has had any engagement with you and specifically what issues they have brought up in those engagements?

3. What has BlackRock disclosed to you regarding any potential conflict of interest stemming from the ESG preferences of its large institutional investors? What systems have you established, information have you considered, and actions have you taken to ensure that BlackRock is not favoring the ESG preferences of these investors at the expense of its smaller retail investors who do not support ESG investing and who simply want the best return on their investments?

4. Has BlackRock disclosed to you what it is doing to overcome the “constraints” that hinder its ability to advance its NZAM climate commitment? What have you done to ensure that BlackRock’s ESG commitments (such as its NZAM and CA100+ commitments) are not adversely affecting assets belonging to the many clients who do not support those commitments and who simply want the best return on their investments?

5. In light of BlackRock’s statements regarding the use of client funds to advance the ESG agenda, have you considered whether BlackRock should be your funds’ investment adviser moving forward? What actions have you taken to warn investors about these potential misrepresentations?

6. Did BlackRock disclose to you its 2020 pledge to divest from coal and all other material information regarding its coal policies and actions? Did you analyze this pledge’s financial implications on your respective funds? To the best of your knowledge, has there been any analysis and has anyone been held accountable for the substantial loss of profits that may have resulted from the decision to divest from coal, or at least to refrain from increasing investments in coal? Were these decisions disclosed to the many investors who have placed their money into your funds for the sole purpose of maximizing their financial returns?

7. In assessing the compensation that you pay BlackRock for its advisory services, have you considered the value that BlackRock receives, including fall-out benefits in addition to direct financial benefits, from promoting its use of all assets under management to achieve ESG policy goals such as net zero? Have you investigated the financial impact that these practices have on BlackRock’s non-ESG funds?

States joining Attorney General Knudsen were Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Iowa, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, New Hampshire, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, and Virginia.

In March, Attorney General Knudsen wrote a letter with 20 other attorneys general warning asset managers about ESG investments being made with Americans’ hard-earned money. In October 2022, he joined 18 other attorneys general in launching an investigation into six major banks over potentially deceptive trade practices tied to ESG-related actions.

About 21.4 percent of the cigarettes consumed in Montana are smuggled in from states that tax their cigarettes lower than Montana, where a pack is taxes $1.70. The tax on a pack of cigarettes in North Dakota is 44 cents; in South Dakota $1.53; in Wyoming its 60 cents; and 57 cents in Idaho.

The Tax Foundation estimates that Montana experiences $17.6 million in “foregone” revenue  due to smuggling. An estimated 10.3 million packs are smuggled into the state annually.

Tobacco is the most highly taxed consumer product in the United States.

Cigarettes are taxed at the federal, state, and sometimes even local levels. These layers of taxes often result in very high levels of taxation. Taxes make up nearly half of the retail price of cigarettes nationwide. In New York and Washington, D.C., more than 60 percent of the price paid by consumers comes from taxes.

Taxation varies greatly from state to state, and large differences in prices drive smuggling. Low-taxed products commonly find their way into high-tax states. For instance, in 2020, New York was the highest net importer of smuggled cigarettes. 53.5 percent of cigarettes consumed in New York were purchased illicitly or from other states. New York also has one of the highest state cigarette taxes at $4.35 per pack, and New York City levies an additional $1.50 cigarette tax per pack.

Layers of taxation force state and federal governments to consider each other’s tax policies. Because consumption is impacted by price, a federal tax hike, which would increase retail prices and shrink consumption, would impact revenue generated by state governments. In other words, federal tobacco tax increases decrease state tax revenue by driving down legal consumption.

More recently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) proposed product standards that would further restrict the kind of tobacco products that can be legally sold. In 2022, the FDA proposed a ban on menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars. In 2020, menthol cigarettes accounted for 37 percent of the cigarette market. A menthol ban would decrease tax collections by more than $6 billion per year.

Even more impactful would be a very low nicotine (VLN) product standard. The FDA could propose a product standard that would limit the (naturally grown) nicotine levels in tobacco. The result could be a de facto prohibition on cigarettes. The consequences of such a ban would be greater in magnitude than any tobacco regulation or tax implemented to date.

Finally, excise taxes on tobacco are highly regressive. This means that low-income Americans pay a greater share of their income in tobacco excise taxes than higher-income groups. Consumption taxes are almost always regressive, but cigarette taxes tend to be the most heavily burdensome on low-income households.

The negative impact to Montana from the $1 federal excise tax is $3.3 million. Negative impact due to the federal flavor ban is $8.6 million. Negative impact of a VLN product ruling would be $79.3 million for Montana.

Given the past few years of escalating property values it probably won’t be a surprise for most people when they get their Real Estate Assessment Notices and see an increase in their property values  – but then again – it may be quite a shock for some and alarming to many people as to what it means regarding their property tax bill.

At the very least, the Montana Department of Revenue (DOR) anticipates that there will be a lot of questions about what the increased values for both commercial and residential properties will mean.

The Montana DOR is mailing property classification and appraisal notices to all owners of residential, commercial, industrial, and agricultural land properties on June 30. These notices are not tax bills. They include the department’s determination of market or productivity value and the taxable value for property that will be used by your county treasurer to determine the property taxes owed for tax year 2023 and 2024.

In order to meet those questions head-on the agency is planning to hold two informational meetings in Yellowstone County in July.

Paula Gilbert, DOR’s Appraisal Manager for Yellowstone Count said, “People are going to see large changes in their values. Because the market in Montana has been so strong these past several years, most values have gone up dramatically. Some people will look at those assessments and panic.”

It is hoped that the informational meetings will help to “relieve some of that panic.” Ideally, if property values go up, mill levies go down. What mill levies will be won’t, of course, be known until the fall when property tax statements are issued.

The first meeting will be at the Billings Library on Thursday, July 6, 4-7 pm.

A second one will be held on Tuesday, July 11, 9:30 am in conjunction with the country commissioners regular weekly meeting, 3rd Floor of the Stillwater Building. Gilbert said that at that meeting there will be knowledgeable experts on hand to answer questions of taxpayers.

DOR wants people to understand that if they believe their property valuation is incorrect or if they want to file a protest, they must do so within 30 days of receiving their Real Estate Assessment Notices. Waiting until the tax bill comes is too late.

 “It’s important that Montana property owners review this information,” said Brendan Beatty, Director of the Montana DOR. “If property owners wait until property tax bills are sent in November, it will be too late for the department to correct property characteristics and make adjustments that may impact the value of the property for Tax Year 2023.

Recipients are urged to review the notice as soon as possible and contact the DOR, if they have questions. If property owners disagree with the department’s determination of value for their property, they may submit a Request for Informal Classification and Appraisal Review (called Form AB-26) within 30 days of the date on their notice.

Owners can electronically submit the form, download it, and find more information on the informal review process at MTRevenue.gov. In July, public meetings in cities and towns across the state will be held to help taxpayers understand the property valuation process and how the department determined the new values on their appraisal notices.