Flathead County health department wins approval for FY26 DUI task force work plan; funding from reinstatement fees
Get AI-powered insights, summaries, and transcripts
Subscribe
Summary
The commissioners approved the Flathead County FY26 DUI Task Force work plan. Health department staff said the program is funded by driver's-license reinstatement fees (about $100 to the county per $200 fee) and shared local DUI statistics, including that roughly 75% of DUI arrestees are male and average age is about 37.
Flathead County commissioners on May 9 approved the FY26 work plan for the county’s DUI Task Force, which the health department said is funded from driver reinstatement fees rather than general tax dollars.
Wendy Olson Hanson of the health department told commissioners the funding source is the $200 reinstatement fee paid after DUI convictions; $100 of that fee is remitted to the county where the infraction occurred and $100 to the general fund. She said the county receives between $35,000 and $40,000 per year for the task force from those reinstatement fees.
Olson Hanson presented statewide and county data included in the plan and shared local figures covering May 2024 to April 2025. She said about 75% of DUI arrests in the county involved males and the average age was about 37. She also said about 45% of local traffic fatalities were alcohol- or impairment-related and that about 20% of DUIs during the reported period were classified as aggravated (BAC of 0.16 or higher; the legal limit is 0.08).
The health department noted outreach activities under the plan, including the Alive at 25 defensive-driving program, which has reached more than 175 students, and a recent “ghost out” at Bigfork High School that simulated the timing of crash fatalities to encourage students to avoid impaired driving during the busy Memorial Day–Labor Day period.
A commissioner moved approval; the board approved the work plan by voice vote with no recorded opposition. The meeting record does not include the full work plan text or the specific allocation of the $35,000–$40,000 across programs.