Photo: JERRYE & ROY KLOTZ MD · CC BY-SA 3.0How is Big Timber run?
Big Timber’s city government spent $1.7 million on day-to-day services in the year to June 30, 2024, about $1,025 per resident. Water and other utilities ($534,000) are counted separately.
What stands out about how Big Timber is run
Read from the city’s budget and official records.
About $1,025 per resident a year, or $2.81 a day
Day-to-day services only. The biggest line: sewer & trash, at 56%.
Thank you for being a neighbor
$898 per resident in 2022, close to the middle of similar cities
Big Timber’s day-to-day spending in 2022 ($898 per resident, hospital and utilities left out) against 51 Montana cities of under 2,500 that don’t run their own schools: the median was $804, and the middle half spent $431–$1,030. Big Timber spent more than 63% of them.
Includes sewer and trash ($826,000), as the Census Bureau counts them. Later years come from a Census sample, so the comparison stays on 2022. How Town Hall compares budgets →
Montana cities of under 2,500 that don’t run their own schools, 2022 Census of Governments (every government counted that year; Big Timber itself left out).
Day-to-day spending is up 12% since 2022
Day-to-day services, in dollars, in the years Big Timber reported to the Census Bureau. Prices rose too: about 4% a year in 2022–2024.
Day-to-day spending by fiscal year
Per resident: 2022: $898 · 2023: $915 · 2024: $1,025.
full-time in March 2025, down from 15 in 2022.
Building projects, interest and enterprises (hospital, utilities) are left out, so a big construction year doesn’t read as growth.
The typical homeowner pays $1,433 a year
Every local property tax on the home: town, schools and county. About 0.52% of the home’s value, vs 0.72% across Montana.
Typical yearly bill next door and statewide
The Housing page’s calculator splits a monthly payment into loan, tax and insurance at Big Timber’s rate.
Can I afford it? →The median bill homeowners report to the Census survey (bills of $10,000+ are reported as “$10,000+”). The effective rate is that bill ÷ the median home value: a rough guide, not the official tax rate. In a town this small the estimate has a wide margin.
Tax bills are one input to Big Timber’s Cost of living grade. Cost of living in Big Timber →
Who’s in charge in Big Timber
Names change after every election, so we link to the source that keeps them current.
Big Timber’s meeting calendar isn’t in our feed yet. The city posts agendas and minutes on cityofbigtimber.com ↗.
One full-time city employee for every 166 residents
On the payroll in March 2025, from the Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll. Residents: the Census population in the 2024 finance file (1,662).
By department full-time, plus part-time, March 2025
The Census reports one month’s payroll (March); yearly figures are that month × 12, an estimate. Part-timers count half in the bar lengths.
Big Timber Elementary School District
Big Timber’s elementary school district. It’s its own government, with a budget separate from the town’s.
Of the $11,351 per pupil, $8,721 goes to the classroom (teachers, aides, supplies); the rest to buses, buildings, counselors and administration. Building projects and debt payments aren’t in the per-pupil figure.
Montana districts overall: 44% local, 39% state, 17% federal.
Sweet Grass County High School District · $21,796 per pupil
School year 2023–24. Census Bureau school finance survey.
Big Timber’s votes are counted by county
Montana reports official results by county and precinct, not by city, so there are no official results for Big Timber alone, and we don’t estimate them. These are Sweet Grass County’s results.
Donald J TrumpRepublican75.1%1,789 votes
Kamala D HarrisDemocrat22.0%525 votesOthers: 2.8% (67 votes).
Most votes in Sweet Grass County: Donald J Trump
Montana: Trump 58.4%, Harris 38.5%
100% of Big Timber lies in Sweet Grass County. Every 2024 race in Sweet Grass County is on the county’s page.
Sweet Grass County’s 2024 results →Official 2024 general election returns, as certified (MIT Election Data + Science Lab). Percentages are of votes for candidates; blank and spoiled ballots aren’t counted. Candidates are listed by votes, and party colors are neutral on purpose.
Portraits: Kamala D Harris: official vice-presidential portrait, Lawrence Jackson, The White House, 2021; Donald J Trump: official portrait, Shealah Craighead, The White House, 2017. All are U.S. government works in the public domain. A race shows photos only when every candidate has an official portrait; otherwise every candidate in it gets initials.
From town hall to Washington
Every level of government that speaks for Big Timber.
- 1Your cityMayor & councilOfficials: cityofbigtimber.com ↗
- 2Montana HouseState representatives
- 3Montana SenateState senator
- 4GovernorStatewide
- 5U.S. HouseYour representative in Congress
- 6U.S. SenateBoth represent all of Montana
Democrat · Republican · other or independent. Tap a name for their official page.
Reach Big Timber’s government
The official site has phone numbers, hours and forms. Neighbors add the rest to the Handbook.
Questions about Big Timber’s government
How much does Big Timber spend per resident?
About $1,025 per resident on day-to-day services in the year to June 30, 2024, as reported to the Census Bureau. In 2022, the last full count, its $898 was more than 63% of 51 Montana cities of under 2,500 that don’t run their own schools.
What is the property tax rate in Big Timber?
Homeowners report a typical bill of $1,433 a year (Census ACS, 2020–24), about 0.52% of the typical home’s value, vs 0.72% across Montana. For the official rate per $1,000 of assessed value, see cityofbigtimber.com.
Who runs Big Timber’s government?
See cityofbigtimber.com for current officials. We name an official only when a public source lists a current term, and none does for Big Timber yet.
How did Big Timber vote in 2024?
Montana counts votes by county and precinct, not by city, so there are no official results for Big Timber alone. Sweet Grass County, where 100% of Big Timber lies, voted Trump 75.1%, Harris 22.0% for president; its page has every race.
How many people work for Big Timber?
10 full-time and 9 part-time employees in March 2025, with a March payroll of $48,702 (about $584,424 a year if every month were the same), as reported to the Census Bureau.
Who represents Big Timber in the state legislature?
State Senate District 39 (Wylie Galt) and State House District 78 (Randyn Gregg). The House district also covers nine other towns. Listed by Open States; districts from the Census Bureau.
Ask neighbors about Big Timber’s government
Neighbors who’ve been to the meetings can help.
Budget and staff: U.S. Census Bureau, Census of Governments (2022, every government) and Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances (2023–24, a sample) and the Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll; day-to-day spending is current operations, with hospitals, utilities and airports apart. School district: Census school finance survey, 2023–24. Property tax: Census American Community Survey, 2020–24. Elections: official 2024 returns via the MIT Election Data + Science Lab; turnout uses Census citizen voting-age population (CVAP, 2020–24). Officials: Open States, names shown only with a current term (checked October 9, 2026). Districts: Census Bureau (119th Congress, 2024 state districts); legislators: Open States and congress-legislators. How Town Hall works →