OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Finance and Budget Committee Meeting - January 21, 2026

Council of Commissioners & CommitteesThursday, January 22, 2026
BodyButte Silver Bow, Montana
SessionCouncil of Commissioners & Committees
DateThursday, January 22, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record

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Transcript — Verbatim
2:59

Okay, I am gonna call the finance and budget committee meeting to order for Wednesday, January twenty first, twenty twenty-six.

3:08

Tonight we will go over the expenditure list.

3:12

Um we will start with you, Commissioner Boyle.

3:16

Do you have any questions?

3:18

Commissioner Shay.

3:20

Commissioner O'Neill.

3:23

Thank you, Madam Chair.

3:25

I do have a question on page forty-five.

3:29

Claim number fifty six fifty-one.

3:33

The Alaskan and Maine San sanitary reroutes the to the Three Rivers, Landworks LLC for three hundred and eighteen thousand.

3:42

What is that?

3:43

Is this just the what company would that be that was your question?

3:53

Like what is it?

3:58

No.

4:00

Dr.

4:00

Hassler.

4:01

Thank you, Commissioner O'Neill.

4:02

That is the contractor that is doing work to do the the sanitary reroutes.

4:09

They have issues uptown where they have illicit connections.

4:13

Um, where the sanitary lines don't always hook up to sanitary lines.

4:31

Thank you, Commissioner O'Neill.

4:33

Do you have any other questions?

4:34

No, thank you.

4:35

Commissioner Larry, do you have any questions?

4:37

Okay.

4:38

Um, if there are no or Dr.

4:41

House or is there anything of note that you'd like to point out?

4:46

Gosh, I'm breathing into this thing hard.

4:48

Um, then if there are no other questions or comments, I would entertain a motion on the expenditure list.

5:01

The amount of 1, 19, 146.80 cents.

5:08

A motion's been made and seconded to approve the expenditure list.

5:11

Is there anything on the question?

5:13

All those in favor?

5:15

Aye.

5:16

Against motion passes.

5:19

Um we do have some budget transfers this evening.

5:23

Looks like one in the amount of 25,000.

5:26

Transfers for legal services related to Silver Lake water rights.

5:29

That's um public works.

5:32

One in the amount of 5,000.

5:35

It's for the county attorney's office.

5:37

We have almost depleted line item, long line item professional services, and we have an invoice that needs to be paid, and we'll have more invoices in that line item before the end of the budget year.

5:49

One in the amount of 50 bucks, looks like correcting calculation error and previous transfer for printer purchases, that's um for weed control.

6:02

One in the amount of 145 dollars to cover the cost of the annual Kelly Create invoice for the RICO printer in the family planning clinic from 1126 to 1127.

6:14

That's at the Health Department.

6:17

Um in the amount of $4,271 to cover the cost of AMPHO for 26-27 year at the health department.

6:30

One in the amount of $914 from the clerk and recorders, 360 coverage or 360 overage is from an increase in annual maintenance and licensing fees for ESNS.

6:43

Uh one in the amount of 102 dollars in the clerk and recorders to it's an overage from required background check for a new employee.

6:53

And one in the amount of $8,026 in the clerk and recorders.

7:01

Um there's an overage from an increase in Tyler's contract and IDOC has been coded as $360 in the past.

7:06

$360 overages from a change in coding.

7:09

Um looks like it's just to cover some dues as well.

7:14

Um are there any questions on the budget transfers?

7:20

Commissioner O'Neill.

7:21

Thank you, madam chair.

7:24

Question on the public works professional services.

7:27

The it says transfer for legal services related to Silver Lake water rights.

7:34

I guess what we already have the water, right?

7:38

Sure.

7:39

So thank you.

7:41

The the question um is about the transfer for professional services for water rights at Silver Lake.

7:48

So I believe that in the Silver Lake water system, which is the industrial water system, they're trying to um find a way to see if it is feasible to make it a traditional utility.

8:02

So right now we have a bunch of service agreements with our customers out there, and they're based on flows, but they're not it's not based on our volumetric allotment.

8:14

Um, but it's not based on like a typical water user, like you use 10,000 gallons of water a month at your house, and it's based on the number of gallons you use.

8:29

These um water service agreements are kind of spread all over the board as far as who pays what for what water.

8:38

And so I think that they're they're looking and they have to go through the water rights um in order to try to get that set up more as a utility where everybody is paying a per gallon charge for the water that they use from Silver Lake.

8:56

And Commissioner O'Neill, just to touch on that a little bit.

8:59

We talked about this actually in one of our other meetings, and um this isn't something that's new to Beauty Bow.

9:05

Um, this has been in the works for several years.

9:08

Um, but this is just another step towards this process or in this process.

9:14

Gotcha.

9:16

Do you have any other questions?

9:19

Right now.

9:19

Okay.

9:20

Does anybody else have any questions?

9:23

Seeing none, if there are no other questions, comments, or concerns, I would entertain a motion to adjourn.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Water And Wastewater Management█████████████████████████████████████████████51%
Budget Equity Analysis███████████████████████████████████████████49%
Summary of Proceedings

Finance and Budget Committee Meeting - January 21, 2026

The Finance and Budget Committee convened on Wednesday, January 21, 2026, to review and approve the monthly expenditure list and a series of budget transfers. Commissioner O'Neill raised a query regarding a specific sewer line rerouting claim, which was clarified by Dr. Hassler. Dr. House noted minor respiratory discomfort but did not present further items. The committee reviewed public works budget adjustments concerning the Silver Lake water system, followed by a motion to adjourn.

Consent Calendar

  • Expenditure List Approval: The committee unanimously approved the expenditure list totaling $1,146.80 (as stated in the transcript) via motion and second. Commissioner Boyle, Commissioner Shay, and Dr. House raised no additional questions or concerns.

Budget Transfers

  • Public Works: Approval of a $25,000 transfer for legal services related to Silver Lake water rights. Commissioner O'Neill inquired about the necessity of legal services given existing water rights; the Chair clarified the funds are for feasibility analysis to transition the industrial system to a utility model based on per-gallon volumetric allotments. Commissioner Boyle noted this has been in development for several years.
  • County Attorney's Office: Approval of a $5,000 transfer to professional services to cover an outstanding invoice and anticipated future invoices before the budget year ends.
  • Weed Control: Approval of a $50 transfer to correct a calculation error regarding a previous transfer for printer purchases.
  • Health Department:
    • $145 transferred to cover the annual Kelly Create invoice for the RICO printer (FY 2026-2027).
    • $4,271 transferred to cover the cost of AMPHO for the 2026-2027 year.
  • Clerk and Recorder's Office:
    • $914 transferred to cover a $360 overage (likely a typo in transcript, stated as $914 total) from increased maintenance and licensing fees for ESNS.
    • $102 transferred to cover an overage from required background checks for a new employee.
    • $8,026 transferred to cover an overage from an increase in Tyler's contract and IDOC coding changes, as well as dues, noting the item was previously coded as $360.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No public comments or testimony were recorded in this meeting transcript.

Discussion Items

  • Silver Lake Water Rights Feasibility: Dr. House and Commissioner O'Neill discussed the scope of the $25,000 legal transfer. The discussion confirmed the city is exploring restructuring the Silver Lake industrial water system from flow-based service agreements to a traditional utility model charging per gallon, a process described as being "in the works for several years."

Key Outcomes

  • Motion Passed: Approved the expenditure list ($1,146.80).
  • Motion Passed: Approved all listed budget transfers (Public Works, County Attorney, Weed Control, Health Department, Clerk and Recorder).
  • Next Step: The meeting adjourned with no further directives or next steps recorded.

Meeting Transcript

Okay, I am gonna call the finance and budget committee meeting to order for Wednesday, January twenty first, twenty twenty-six. Tonight we will go over the expenditure list. Um we will start with you, Commissioner Boyle. Do you have any questions? Commissioner Shay. Commissioner O'Neill. Thank you, Madam Chair. I do have a question on page forty-five. Claim number fifty six fifty-one. The Alaskan and Maine San sanitary reroutes the to the Three Rivers, Landworks LLC for three hundred and eighteen thousand. What is that? Is this just the what company would that be that was your question? Like what is it? No. Dr. Hassler. Thank you, Commissioner O'Neill. That is the contractor that is doing work to do the the sanitary reroutes. They have issues uptown where they have illicit connections. Um, where the sanitary lines don't always hook up to sanitary lines. Thank you, Commissioner O'Neill. Do you have any other questions? No, thank you. Commissioner Larry, do you have any questions? Okay. Um, if there are no or Dr. House or is there anything of note that you'd like to point out? Gosh, I'm breathing into this thing hard. Um, then if there are no other questions or comments, I would entertain a motion on the expenditure list. The amount of 1, 19, 146.80 cents. A motion's been made and seconded to approve the expenditure list. Is there anything on the question? All those in favor? Aye. Against motion passes. Um we do have some budget transfers this evening. Looks like one in the amount of 25,000. Transfers for legal services related to Silver Lake water rights. That's um public works. One in the amount of 5,000. It's for the county attorney's office. We have almost depleted line item, long line item professional services, and we have an invoice that needs to be paid, and we'll have more invoices in that line item before the end of the budget year. One in the amount of 50 bucks, looks like correcting calculation error and previous transfer for printer purchases, that's um for weed control. One in the amount of 145 dollars to cover the cost of the annual Kelly Create invoice for the RICO printer in the family planning clinic from 1126 to 1127. That's at the Health Department. Um in the amount of $4,271 to cover the cost of AMPHO for 26-27 year at the health department. One in the amount of $914 from the clerk and recorders, 360 coverage or 360 overage is from an increase in annual maintenance and licensing fees for ESNS. Uh one in the amount of 102 dollars in the clerk and recorders to it's an overage from required background check for a new employee. And one in the amount of $8,026 in the clerk and recorders. Um there's an overage from an increase in Tyler's contract and IDOC has been coded as $360 in the past.

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