Is Gallatin County Government Being Quietly Rewired Without Your Vote?
A disturbing pattern of power consolidation and reduced voter accountability
Citizens of Gallatin County, are you paying attention to what is happening inside your county government?
Over the past decade, the Gallatin County Commission has quietly passed a series of resolutions that shift power away from elected officials and into the hands of unelected bureaucrats. These changes have happened without a single vote from the people of Gallatin County.
Montana law requires voter approval to change the form of county government. Yet these incremental moves are dramatically altering how your county is run.
Here are just a few examples:
- In 2016, the Commission created a new County Administrator position and began consolidating authority under that role.
- In 2021, the Commission passed a resolution stripping the elected County Treasurer of key duties, including control over county bank accounts and investments. When current Treasurer Maureen Horton took office she pushed back, citing state law, and the matter remains unresolved.
- In 2024, a follow-up resolution returned some duties to the Treasurer but left the Commission with sole signatory authority over bank accounts.
- In December 2025, the Commission voted to remove all election responsibilities from the elected Clerk and Recorder and create a new appointed Election Department effective December 31, 2026, which instead will be under the supervision of the Commission. This will remove direct voter oversight of the office that runs our elections.
This is just the tip of the iceberg.
Gallatin County Republicans believe elected officials should be accountable to the voters who put them in office — not buried under layers of unelected bureaucracy. Real transparency and checks and balances matter.
We will be releasing a series of articles over the coming weeks that dive deeper into these issues, including the ongoing Treasurer dispute, the Big Sky Fire District tax scandal, years of audit delays, and what this means for your tax dollars and your vote.
Stay tuned. This series matters to every taxpayer and voter in Gallatin County.
