Gallatin County adopts FY2026 budget, converts voter-approved mills under new state law and sets mill levies

Gallatin County commissioners voted Aug. 26 to adopt the county's FY2026 final operating and capital budget and to implement conversion methods for voter-approved mills required by recent state legislation.

Chief Financial Officer Justine Swanson told the commission the county proceeded under two conversion methods permitted by the legislature: one method applies the MCA 15-10-420 inflation-limiter formula (half the average annual inflation over three years), and the other converts last year's dollar levy to a new mills figure using this year's taxable value. "For FY '26, if you pass the resolution, there would be $2,793,740 for conservation projects and $931,246 for other eligible projects," Swanson said, describing allocations from the voter-approved open-lands levy.

Swanson listed the voted mills the county was required to convert this year, including 911 dispatch, search and rescue, parks and open space, the rest home, Central Valley Fire operations and capital, Gallatin College, Park County Conservation District and Big Sky Fire. Big Sky Fire elected the second conversion method, which produces a one-time reset to its mills for FY26.

The commission adopted the conversion resolution (2025-072) after brief debate about statutory constraints and distributional effects; commissioners noted the conversion could be disproportionately impactful for some taxpayers in the Big Sky Fire District. Swanson also explained changes from the Department of Revenue's certified values and the delayed effect of the agricultural/forest-land exemption for the open-lands levy.

Separately, commissioners approved several required levies and levy adjustments: a permissive medical levy of up to $169,546 for FY26 to offset health-care costs associated with added staff (resolution 2025-073); a permissive sheriff's retirement levy totaling $435,735 for FY26 that includes a retroactive component of $105,262 for prior-year actuarial changes (resolution 2025-074); and the countywide mill-levy resolution that sets tax levies for county operations, rural funds, bonds and special districts (resolution 2025-076).

The board then adopted the final FY26 budget (resolution 2025-075). Swanson told commissioners that the commission had approved a 6% salary increase for elected officials and classified employees after the salary committee had recommended 10%; she also noted $1,287,484 in newly taxable property and an FY26 inflationary-tax increase of $593,930 tied to the 2.11% inflation cap for the year.

The resolutions passed on roll-call/voice votes during the Aug. 26 meeting. The county will post finalized budget attachments and the mill-levy spreadsheet online for public review.