
Helena Mayor Has Same Tax and Affordability Issues as Missoula
Missoula, MT (KGVO-AM News) - Helena Mayor Wilmot Collins appeared on the KGVO Talk Back show on Monday and related similar concerns in leading his city as we have in Missoula.
Collins, a native of Liberia in West Africa, who is now a naturalized U.S. citizen, said the Helena area also struggles with the issues of growth, housing, and property taxes.
Helena Mayor Wilmot Collins Appeared on Monday's Talk Back Show
“Because of such huge growth in the county (Lewis and Clark) just outside of Helena, that plays a role,” began Mayor Collins. That means we have 34,000 (in the City of Helena) people serving almost 80,000 people because the rest of the county comes into Helena to do everything. They come to grocery shop, they come for entertainment, they come for everything, and so we have to serve them.”
In Missoula, we vividly remember the shock of increased property taxes in the past few years. Collins said Helenans had the same experience.
“People were not aware,” he said. “People were not informed about what was going on. And you know who the first person that started to blame? The city. ‘The city increased my tax. The city did this. The city did that, but it was technically the state, and so the taxes were high, and this caused problems because of how abruptly it happened. A lot of people were not prepared for it. I wasn't prepared for it. So, yes, people are still struggling.”
Collins Said Helena Residents Also Received Property Tax Rebate Checks
Collins referenced the property tax rebate checks that Montanans have received.
“Home prices were always high anyway, because of what happened during COVID and all of that,” he said. “But then when the property tax came on, that even increased the problems for the community. And so those $600 checks? I'm not going to discount it, they did help, but it was no way in line with what the community thought.”
Collins was asked about the current crisis where millions of illegal immigrants have flooded over the southern border. He referenced the years-long process of he and his wife becoming naturalized American citizens.
Collins Related His Own Emotional Naturalization Ceremony
“As the mayor of Helena, I'm invited to all the naturalization ceremonies here in Helena, and believe me, I tear up every time I go there because I put myself in this situation and see how happy they were,” he said. “I was just as happy as they were, maybe even more, because it's so emotional when you hear the judge speak about it, you hear the senators, you hear the representative welcoming you finally into the country for the first time.”
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