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8/4/2025

Formula determines how much cities, counties are owed

A stream of state funding known as entitlement shares is growing much slower than in previous years — another sign that COVID-era budget boosts for local governments have ended.

The Montana Legislature created the entitlement program in 2001 to guard against sharp tax revenue fluctuations for local governments. The money is generated locally from personal property tax reimbursements, vehicle fees, gaming revenue, alcohol tax and other money. The state collects the funds and uses a formula to determine a baseline distribution to cit

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