More than 100 people gathered Jan. 13 in the Virginia City Community Center to hear residents, attorneys and healthcare professionals debate whether or not 22 property owners in the Silvertip subdivision in Moonlight Basin should be allowed to withdraw from the Madison Valley Hospital District. 

The discussion went on for four hours, and then the Madison County Commissioners voted 2-1 to deny the Silvertip withdrawal petition, with Commissioner Bill Todd — who voted against approving the petition — encouraging the two sides to get together and, “Be creative about it. Figure something out here. Everyone wants the same goal and that is to provide services. There is no one in this room that is not committed to the important goal of caring for people.” 

In a press release from the “Support Madison Valley” campaign issued shortly after the Jan. 13 hearing, Allen Rohrback, CEO of Madison Valley Medical Center, stated, “The potential withdrawal of even a single subdivision threatens the stability of property tax revenue that funds essential services benefiting all of Madison County, including residents of Big Sky.”

The press release went on to quote State Senator Tony Tezak, who said, “This decision affirms the importance of shared responsibility in supporting vital community services.” 

In his testimony during the hearing, Tezak harkened back to the days before Big Sky became a resort boom town and Lone Peak—along with other parts of what is known today as Big Sky—were then known for logging. Back then, said Tezak, the closest hospital was in Ennis. 

Now, said Tezak, to let a few property taxpayers disrupt the funding of the Madison Valley Medical Center, “It’s like the tail wagging the dog. Where is our sense of shared responsibility, our sense of community, and the Montana values that we are all in this together?”

Quirk In geography

It’s no secret that the most expensive homes in Montana are clustered in a portion of Big Sky that’s tucked high in the mountains and inaccessible by public roads to the rest of Madison County. This includes the ultra-exclusive Yellowstone Club and subdivisions like Silvertip, located in Moonlight Basin.

Big Sky has its own hospital — the Big Sky Medical Center — but it sits across the county line in Gallatin County. Residents of the Yellowstone Club, Silvertip and other neighborhoods in the Madison County portion of Big Sky pay property taxes levied by the Madison County Hospital District. 

But in a quirk of resort community geography, those Madison County residents cannot easily access the Madison Valley Medical Center in Ennis — a 90 minute drive away on paved public roads. 

That’s why some residents of Madison County living in Big Sky are now trying to remove themselves from Madison County’s property tax base. 

Two petitions were submitted to Madison County seeking withdrawal from the Madison Valley Hospital District. One is currently tied up in Montana 5th Judicial District Court awaiting a ruling from Judge Luke Berger and the other was voted down by the County Commission on Jan. 13. 

This battle over property tax revenue is part of the growing pains experienced by resort boom towns across the Rocky Mountain West. But as the testimony on Jan. 13 demonstrated, Big Sky’s isolated location high in the Madison Range makes some of those pains even more painful. 

When Big Sky residents living in Madison County need medical attention, most go to the Big Sky Medical Center.

The Big Sky Medical Center opened in 2015, and it now serves Big Sky residents living in both Gallatin and Madison Counties, including Nicole Howard. 

Howard hobbled up to the podium in Virginia City on Jan. 13 with one leg in a brace and told the board of commissioners about why accessing healthcare from the hospital her tax dollars support was never an option after breaking her leg the day after Christmas. 

“The bone marrow can leak into your leg and it can stop your heart,” Howard told the commissioners, explaining how she needed immediate medical attention.

Howard was transported to Big Sky Medical Center and then to Bozeman, where her leg break was repaired with emergency surgery.

Howard offered her story as proof that though she pays property taxes into the Madison Valley Hospital District, when she needs healthcare, Howard does not go to the Madison Valley Medical Center. 

In order to access care at the Madison Valley Medical Center, she would have had to travel 90 minutes on paved roads and around 45 minutes on the private Jack Creek Road, which is the only direct link between Big Sky and the Madison Valley Medical Center in Ennis. 

“There's absolutely no way I would be able to drive that,” said Howard, who described herself as a “middle-class 30 something” who works in hospitality and wants to see her tax dollars go toward healthcare that’s easily accessible in Big Sky. 

They knew when they bought

Many of those expressing frustration about the petitions to withdraw from the Madison Valley Hospital District said the property owners now trying to opt out knew they were buying a residence in Madison County when they moved to Big Sky. 

“I’m sorry, Big Sky is in Madison County,” said Dino Fanelli, who also serves on the Ennis School Board. “We’re all in the same county. Let’s get past this. It’s got to be equitable for all of Madison County and not just Big Sky.”

In response to the withdrawal petitions, the “Support Madison Valley” campaign sent out a press release Jan. 10 ahead of the hearing in Virginia City, stating that, “If permitted by the commissioners, this dynamic would allow a small number of individuals to decide the fate of significant dollars in property taxes, while reducing taxes paid by out of state property owners and potentially undermining the stability of critical community services.”

The release also warned that, “Big Sky properties account for 85% of the Madison Valley Hospital District’s taxable value, and also provide significant funding for essential county services such as schools, libraries, and healthcare. These services benefit the entire region, including the workforce that supports Big Sky’s success and growth.”

Rohrback stated, “These ongoing initiatives are a clear attempt to prioritize Big Sky’s exclusive interests at the expense of Madison County’s broader community. Public taxes fund services — like hospitals, schools and libraries — that keep communities strong. Diverting these funds would harm the entire region, including those workers and residents who contribute to Big Sky’s success.”

Big Sky’s needs continue to grow

Some residents of Big Sky who made the drive to the Jan. 13 hearing in Virginia City pointed out that while they chose to purchase property in Madison County, over the last 10 years, what Big Sky residents are paying into the Madison Valley Hospital District has gone up 800 percent, according to their calculations. 

At the same time, demand for healthcare services in Big Sky continues to rise. 

Katie Grice, a volunteer with the Big Sky group Wellness In Action, told the commissioners, “We do not have enough healthcare services in Big Sky and the problem is getting worse.”

From 2022 to 2023, WIA counselors reported a 247% increase in demand for services. This and other demands led WIA to support the first petition to withdraw from the Madison Valley Hospital District and announced its ambition to create a “wellness district” in Big Sky. 

According to the “Support Madison Valley” Jan. 10 press release, Big Sky’s ambition to create its own wellness district, “Threatens to strip $2.9 million annually from the Madison Valley Hospital District, jeopardizing healthcare access for residents across Madison County and surrounding communities.”

Time to negotiate?

Daniel Bierschwale, executive director of the Big Sky Resort Area District, told Madison County Commissioners that he appreciated the town motto of Virginia City: “Resisting change since 1863.”

In a nod to all the ways Big Sky is a new kind of boom town, Bierschwale noted, “However, change is happening around us. And it’s the people who are receiving that medical care that we’re talking about.”  

“They need more funding to have additional services,” added Natasha Jones, an attorney representing Madison County residents in Big Sky. 

Jones told The Madisonian, “There's a clinic in Big Sky on the Gallatin County side and it has its own budget. And that budget is limited and so the services are limited. And they run in the red at a deficit, unlike the Madison Valley Medical Center. That does not run in the red. They run at a budget surplus.”

Whether it’s Nicole Howard — who lives in a renovated ski bum condo at the base of Big Sky Resort — or Whitney Peyton, the president of the Yellowstone Club Property Owners Association, accessing healthcare means driving 10 to 15 minutes to Big Sky Medical Center just down the road in Gallatin County. 

“Instead of being here arguing about this and paying lawyers on one side and lawyers on the other side. That is a waste of time and money. Let's get together and sit down and figure out a fair and equitable solution,” said Peyton, noting that these are the kind of financial growing pains faced by resort communities across the West. “You could look at Jackson Hole, you could look at Aspen. Every major resort town has the same core issues.” 

But Big Sky is saddled with the extra complication of steep alpine terrain and narrow canyons separating it from the rest of Madison County. 

Commissioner Duke Gilman, who also voted against the Silvertip petition to withdraw, acknowledged how the Big Sky situation is especially complicated, given the isolating terrain. 

“Big Sky provides such a large amount of property tax revenue that we as a county have come to depend on that revenue,” said Gilman. “If they are able to pull out with one entity such as the hospital district, where will it stop? Will they continue on with schools, with libraries? We don't know, and I feel like this is going to keep going on and we're going to have more hearings, more petitions probably into the future. So I would really like to find some solutions of people working together.”