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Garfield County commissioners reorganize leadership, adopt holiday schedule, travel rates and sand procurement
Summary
At their Jan. 7, 2026 meeting, Garfield County commissioners elected Kelly Witt as chair, approved three resolutions establishing 2026 holidays and meal/mileage rates, set regular meeting days and authorized purchase of sand from the Montana Department of Transportation. All measures passed unanimously.
The Garfield County Board of Commissioners reorganized its leadership and adopted three county resolutions during a regular session on Jan. 7, 2026.
Vice-Chair Carla McWilliams called the meeting to order at 9:08 a.m. and the board approved the posted agenda. Commissioners nominated and unanimously elected Kelly Witt as chair, Carla McWilliams as vice-chair and Jerry Collins as member.
The commission then reviewed and voted to adopt three resolutions. Resolution 1-2026 establishes Garfield County’s 2026 legal holidays and sets travel and meal reimbursement rates. The resolution references MCA § 1-1-216 for the holiday list and records the Internal Revenue Service mileage rate as 72.5 cents per mile effective Jan. 1, 2026. The county also set a personal-vehicle reimbursement rate calculated in the resolution as $0.35 per mile when employees choose personal vehicles; the resolution states that if county vehicles are unavailable, reimbursement will be at the full IRS rate. Meal reimbursement rates were set at $13 (morning), $15 (midday) and $22 (evening) for in-state travel, and $16/$19/$28 for out-of-state travel.
Resolution 2-2026 sets the board’s regular meeting days for 2026 as the first, second and third Wednesday of each month and the second-to-last working day of the month; if a holiday falls on a regular day, the session will be held the day before. Resolution 3-2026 authorizes Garfield County to enter an agreement with the State of Montana Department of Transportation to procure sand for icy conditions and specifies county reimbursement to MDT upon billing.
Commissioner Carla McWilliams moved to approve the three resolutions and Commissioner Jerry Collins seconded. Each motion passed with all commissioners in favor.
The board signed the official Garfield County 2026 holiday list and recorded the resolutions in the minutes. There were no public comments on these items during the meeting.
The meeting adjourned at 5:00 p.m.; the next regular meeting is scheduled for Jan. 14, 2026 at 9:00 a.m.
