Big Sky Fire District board member abruptly resigns
By Jen Clancey STAFF WRITER
At first, the Big Sky Fire District board meeting began as it usually does on Feb. 25. However, after public comment about 10 minutes in, board member John Seelye resigned from his position suddenly, and left the room.
Much like the silence that hung in the air after Seelye’s departure, the last six months for BSFD have been tense. Despite successes in public service, the department is handling a tumultuous financial period that began in September 2025, when they discovered a Gallatin County-caused tax error that led to BSFD over-collecting $8.3 million in four years from Big Sky taxpayers. The fire department has since adjusted its budgets for projects and leadership volunteered for salary cuts, but budgeting for the error will be ongoing.
Big Sky resident Paul Farrell, who attended the meeting virtually, gave public comment at the start of the Feb. 25 meeting. He first shared his gratitude for firefighters and EMS professionals before stating concerns about the trustees’ management.
Farrell expressed that the “unexpected tax windfall,” was not adequately questioned, and criticized the district for following the tax error with a land purchase of over $1 million. He said that he attended the February public forum between BSFD and Gallatin County officials where leaders described the tax error and stated that the over-collected taxes can’t legally be returned to taxpayers. BSFD also affirmed in the forum that the $1 million purchase of land was a useful and time-sensitive expenditure to build a public safety center next to the department’s training facility.
The tax error was attributed to an inaccurate formula on a Gallatin County tax spreadsheet, leading to double the amount of levied dollars. In the public forum, leaders said that they did not question the spike in tax revenues because the error happened during a period notorious for growth and rising property taxes in Montana.
“To subsequently claim there’s no ability to repay the taxpayers while sitting on an improperly accumulated surplus is insulting and egregious management and a misappropriation of funds from the taxpayers,” Farrell stated. Later in his comment, he described the error.
“The existence and explanation of the so-called double counting Excel spreadsheet error is hard to even imagine. But the failure to question and address such an obvious discrepancy for four years is unconscionable,” Farrell said. “Before even considering requesting that the voters approve a property tax increase or demanding that BSRAD increase its subsidy for the department, this leadership team should take a hard look in the mirror and be truly honest with the taxpayers and take some real responsibility for this unacceptable breach of fiduciary duty and basic trust.”
Following Farrell’s comment, board member John Seelye responded that he “didn’t sign up for this bull****.”
“I’m out,” he said. He announced his resignation and left the room. When contacted by EBS, Seelye declined to comment further. Big Sky Fire District’s website confirmed the resignation is effective as of Feb. 25.
“We extend our sincere gratitude to John for his dedicated service and commitment to the community,” the website stated. Board member Carol Collins shared that there will be more transparency in their upcoming meeting on March 25.
The board of trustees of BSFD consists of five elected or appointed members whose duties include establishing policies, approving budgets and representing community interests. Seelye previously served in 2006-09 and planned to serve from 2025-28.
After budget discussions in the meeting, Collins explained why the budget has been challenging.
“We are working through a very, very tough budget at this point because of a county error, not because of an error by anyone on the board, or staff,” Collins said.
Alan McClain shared that his motivation for joining the board was to support department staff and support public safety in Big Sky. He shared his thoughts, informed by 15 years of experience on the board, on how to move forward.
“One thing I’d also like to point out is, it’s felt pretty divisive within the fire department lately,” McClain said at the meeting. “… [The fire district is] kind of like our government, but there are three branches—there’s the firefighters on the ground, the administrative part of the group and then the board. And it’s our job to collectively work together to make decisions that are best for the department and for the community.”
Farrell offered further public comment at the end of the meeting, and said that his comments landed much more harshly than intended.
“They were meant to spur some examination and hopefully result in some answers about some of the issues raised. They were not intended to blow apart any cooperative efforts by the board of trustees, et cetera. So I apologize if they landed much more poorly than intended,” Farrell said.
Tension aside, the meeting included the decision to add a BSFD staff union member to an interlocal subcommittee between the department and Big Sky Resort Area District to represent staff priorities. The subcommittee will aid in creating potential solutions to BSFD’s funding struggles and also assess BSRAD’s involvement in community wildfire protection and response.
In the coming months, the board will continue budget discussions and updates, and describe next steps for filling the new vacancy.
