Billings Daily Digest Tuesday, September 29, 2026
Ty's Take
Missoula's tax increment financing district just hit $22 million in annual revenue, which is the kind of number that gets everybody's attention around here, because Billings has been watching TIF work in other Montana towns for years and wrestling with whether it's smart urban renewal or just another way to shuffle money away from schools and county services. The question isn't really whether investment is happening up there, it's whether that investment would've come anyway, or whether the city is simply mortgaging its future to pay for today's development deals. Downtown Billings has its own TIF machinery running now, and as local businesses host fundraisers this week trying to fill gaps that public budgets won't, it's worth asking what we're really building here and who ends up paying for it.
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Billings Gazette
Missoula TIF revenue triples to $22M. Is that driving investment? Or siphoning tax funds?
Tax Increment Financing revenue collected by Missoula's six urban renewal districts has surged from $7.5 million in 2018 to $22.5 million in 2027, more than tripling in less than a decade. The city's TIF revenue now represents 9.7% of total city tax income, up from 5.9% in 2018, raising questions...
Billings neighbors: Obituaries for September 29
The Billings Gazette published obituaries on September 29 for several residents, including Charles Napoleon Searl III of Yuma, Arizona, Wanda Ina Thayer McWilliams of Lacey, Washington, and several Billings residents including Pauline White, Beverly Burgee Hayward, and Carol Wakeman Ready.
Read the latest from Gazette reporter Alex Mitchell
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Downtown Billings businesses host week of fundraisers
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Rocky football drops home opener to Carroll College
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