West Yellowstone adopts FY2026 budget, creates housing fund amid debate over pickleball and staff requests

The West Yellowstone Town Council adopted its FY2026 budget and several related resolutions Tuesday night, establishing a special revenue housing fund and setting mill levies for the coming year.

Finance staff presented a 75‑page proposed budget that, if approved, would include line items for community events, staffing‑plan adjustments and one‑time capital needs. The council adopted Resolution 8‑28 to approve the final FY2026 budget and Resolution 8‑27 to set the town’s maximum mill levies for the year. Staff said the budget documents also include a placeholder resolution creating a community housing fund that would allow the town to set aside money for future housing projects and, if desired, transfer up to $500,000 into the Gallatin County Housing Impact Fund as an option.

Katie (finance staff) told the council that adding the housing fund to the budget does not obligate the town to spend on any particular project; it merely creates an accounting vehicle that the council can later use to authorize specific grants or loans. Council members asked for more detail on how the fund would be administered, what application or oversight processes would look like, and whether outside agencies would be used to manage the money. Staff said those decisions would be made later, if and when the town directs funds to projects.

Public commenters pressed the council on competing priorities. Longtime resident Greg Forsyth urged the council to act on a local pickleball project, saying volunteers have raised money and that delays risk losing contractor availability. Lindsay Charlton warned the council the contractor quoted for courts is already booked through next June. Fire Chief Shane Group, speaking for the rural resort‑tax district, said the district’s ballot language omitted education and community‑impact uses and said the district may pursue a May 2026 election to add those permissible uses.

Council members discussed the trade‑offs of budgeting for projects now versus waiting for more detailed proposals. One council member explicitly opposed placing a large placeholder sum in the housing fund without clearer parameters; others supported the framework as a tool for future housing projects. The budget resolution passed by voice vote; meeting minutes record at least one opposing vote on budget‑related items.

The council also approved routine financial items and claims. Staff emphasized that some large capital expenditures planned in previous years did not occur, and that the town’s cash balances and revised revenue projections are part of how the FY2026 budget balances revenues and expenditures.

The town will post the adopted budget in the offices and proceed with project‑level planning for items included in the budget; specific transfers to outside funds would require separate council action.