Updated Oct. 28, 2026
County commissions and city councils in Custer, Dawson, Rosebud, Prairie, Treasure and Wibaux counties set budgets and levies, approve contracts, decide subdivisions and land use, and run roads, bridges and public safety. All of them meet in public, and Montana's Constitution gives the public a right to a reasonable opportunity to participate before agencies make final decisions. Below is who sits on each board, when and where it meets and how to be heard. Several commission seats are on the Nov. 3 ballot, and the winners take office in January.
For the decisions coming up each week, read the Sunday Eastern Montana look-ahead.
What Montana law guarantees
Article II of the Montana Constitution says "the public has the right to expect governmental agencies to afford such reasonable opportunity for citizen participation in the operation of the agencies prior to the final decision as may be provided by law." The next section protects the right to examine public documents and to observe the deliberations of public bodies of state and local government, except where individual privacy clearly outweighs the public's interest.
- Public comment on every agenda. State law requires every meeting agenda to include time for public comment on any public matter within the board's authority that is not otherwise on the agenda. A board cannot act on a matter unless it was listed on an agenda and the public had a chance to comment on it. Comments become part of the official minutes.
- Open meetings. Meetings of public bodies, including their committees, are open to the public. A meeting can close only while it discusses a matter of individual privacy, when that privacy clearly outweighs public disclosure, or litigation strategy when an open discussion would hurt the body's position. It cannot close to discuss litigation in which the only parties are public bodies.
- Notice. Boards must give adequate public notice of their meetings. A county commission sets its regular meeting date by resolution and needs a resolution and two days' posted notice to meet at another time or place.
- Minutes. Boards keep minutes that are open to the public and record what was discussed and decided, and individual votes when a member asks.
- Challenging a decision. A district court can void a decision made in violation of the open meeting law. A lawsuit must be filed within 30 days of when the person learned, or should have learned, of the decision.
- Public records. "Every person has a right to examine and obtain a copy of any public information of this state," with limited exceptions, under MCA 2-6-1003.
The Montana Department of Commerce's guide to public participation explains these rules in more detail, and the open meeting law itself is at MCA 2-3-203.
How to be heard
Agendas post a few days before each meeting at the links below. To speak on an item that is on the agenda, come to the meeting; boards take comment before they act. For anything else under the board's authority, use the public comment slot that every agenda must include. The board cannot act on that topic the same day, but it can schedule it for a later meeting. You can also call or write the county or city office to ask that a topic be placed on an agenda. Some commissions, such as Custer's and Rosebud's, are in session most weekdays; others meet on set days each month.
Custer County
Custer County Commission
- Members: Jason Strouf, chairman, District 1; Jeff Faycosh, District 2; Kevin Krausz, District 3.
- Meets: in session most weekdays, mornings and afternoons, with timed items on a weekly agenda, on the main floor of the Custer County Courthouse, 1010 Main St., Miles City. The current week's agenda is on the county's agendas page, and recordings are posted on the county site afterward.
- To comment: each day's agenda includes "Unscheduled Matters," which covers public comment on matters under the commission's authority. For a disability accommodation, contact the clerk and recorder four working days before the meeting.
- Contact: Strouf, 406-874-3352; Faycosh, 406-874-3350; Krausz, 406-874-3351. Clerk and Recorder Linda Corbett, 406-874-3343.
Miles City City Council
- Members: Mayor Chris Grenz. Council Members Dan Scott and Ed Pulecio (Ward I), Rick Huber and Jeni Losey (Ward II), Cody Steiner and Kevin Thomason (Ward III), and Brooke Bartholomew and Donald Simpson (Ward IV). Phone numbers for each are on the city's city council page.
- Meets: 6 p.m. on Tuesdays as listed on the city's meetings page, in the council chambers at City Hall, 17 S. Eighth St. The same page lists the Zoning Board and council committees, with agendas and packets.
- Watch or join: by Zoom, meeting ID 406 234 3462, passcode 59301.
- To comment: "Request of Citizens" comes at the start of each agenda for matters that are not on the agenda. Comment on agenda items is taken before the council acts on them.
- Contact: City Clerk Mary Rowe, 406-874-8602; Mayor's Office, 406-874-8603.
Dawson County
Dawson County Commission
- Members: Brad Mitchell, District 1; Dennis Zander, chairman, District 2; Joe Sharbono, District 3. Mitchell lost the June Republican primary and leaves the commission in January.
- Meets: 10 a.m. on the first Tuesday and 5:30 p.m. on the third Tuesday of each month, plus special sessions, at the Dawson County Courthouse, 207 W. Bell St., Glendive. Agendas, minutes and video are on the county's meetings page.
- To comment: the chair asks for comments before the commission acts on each agenda item; state your name for the record. Other topics under the commission's authority go in the "Public Comment" portion of the agenda, where no decisions are made but an item can be placed on the next agenda.
- Contact: Mitchell, 406-345-4101; Zander, 406-345-4102; Sharbono, 406-345-4103. The commissioners' office is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday.
Glendive City Council
- Members: Mayor Deb Dion. Council Members Joanne Hynes and Kari Keller (Ward 1), Clyde Mitchell and Jim Keller (Ward 2), Mike Dryden and Cammy Baker (Ward 3), and Kevin Thompson and Rhett Coon, council president (Ward 4). Council members serve four-year terms; emails are on the city's Meet the Council page.
- Meets: the first and third Tuesdays at City Hall, 300 S. Merrill Ave., at 7 p.m.; the council took up a proposal in October to move the start to 6 p.m., so check the current agenda for the time. Agendas, packets and minutes for the council and its committees are on the city's agendas page.
- Watch: live on the city's YouTube channel, @CityofGlendive.
- To comment: sign up on the form at the meeting and wait for the mayor to call on you during public comment. Give your name and address for the record. Comments are limited to three minutes.
- Contact: City Hall, 406-377-3318; the mayor at extension 11 or mayor@glendivemt.gov.
Rosebud County
Rosebud County Commission
- Members: Robert E. Lee, District 1; Scott Hein, presiding, District 2; Ed Joiner, District 3. Lee did not seek re-election, and the District 1 seat changes hands in January.
- Meets: the commissioners handle county business every weekday and hold a formal board meeting, open for public comment, at 10 a.m. on the day set in each week's agenda, at the Rosebud County Courthouse, 1251 Main St., Forsyth. The weekly agenda and monthly minutes post under Forms and Documents on the commissioners' page, and meeting video is in the county's video archive.
- To comment: the commissioners accept public comment on any day on matters within their jurisdiction.
- Contact: 406-346-2251, weekdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Forsyth and Colstrip each elect a mayor and city council. Colstrip, incorporated in 1999, has four council members elected at large. The Independent Press in Forsyth covers both councils.
Prairie County
Prairie County Commission
- Members: Christine Keltner, District 1; Dennis Teske, District 2; Todd Devlin, District 3 and chairperson. Commissioners serve six-year staggered terms and are elected countywide.
- Meets: Wednesdays at 9 a.m., about three times a month, at the Prairie County Courthouse, 217 Park St. W., Terry, with timed items through the afternoon. Agendas are on the county's agendas page, and audio recordings are on the commissioners' YouTube channel.
- To comment: public comment on matters not on the agenda opens each meeting, and comment is taken on business items as they come up, limited to three minutes per speaker. To appear on the agenda, contact the chairperson 72 hours before the meeting.
- Contact: 406-635-5575, info@prairiecountymt.gov.
Terry Town Council
- Members: Mayor Rolane Christofferson; Council Members Neva Rathbun, Scott Christofferson, Karlene Kinsey and Tom Magalsky.
- Meets: regular sessions at 6 p.m., usually on the second Thursday of the month. Agendas post monthly on the town's website.
- To comment: each agenda has two public comment periods, one near the start and one at the end.
- Contact: Town Clerk Lynn Schilling, 406-635-5411.
Treasure County
Treasure County Commission
- Meets: generally the first and third Tuesdays at 10 a.m., plus special meetings, in the County Courtroom, 307 Rapelje Ave., Hysham. Agendas, minutes and recordings are listed by date on the commissioners' page.
- To comment: each agenda sets a time for public comment on matters not on the agenda, limited to three minutes per speaker. The commission takes no action on those comments but can place a topic on a later agenda. Audio recordings are posted on the commissioners' page.
- Contact: 406-342-5547.
Wibaux County
Wibaux County is governed by a three-member board of commissioners and does not keep a county website. For meeting dates and agendas, contact the courthouse in Wibaux; the county election office is at 406-796-2481. The town of Wibaux, like Hysham and Terry, elects a mayor and town council.
Northern Cheyenne Tribe
The Northern Cheyenne Tribe governs its own affairs as a sovereign nation under its constitution and bylaws. The Tribal Council has members elected from five districts, Ashland, Birney, Busby, Lame Deer and Muddy, and the president and council members serve staggered four-year terms. The tribe's website has a Tribal Council agenda request form. Tribal offices are at 600 Cheyenne Ave., Lame Deer, 406-477-6284.