Wellness Effort in Big Sky files Suit over Petition to Withdraw from the Madison County Hospital District

Big Sky – Plaintiffs supporting the efforts of the Big Sky Wellness Coalition filed a lawsuit in the Madison County District Court today after months of unsuccessful attempts to communicate with and obtain records from Madison County regarding the Madison Valley Hospital District and the refusal of the Madison County Commissioners to hold a hearing on the petition to withdraw from the Hospital District.

The Big Sky Wellness Coalition is comprised of partners and community members across diverse organizations who have a shared interest in addressing the growing gap in the Big Sky community’s healthcare services. Through collaboration, the coalition began an effort to address community needs in health and wellness services, and in August of 2023 began the effort of collecting signatures on a petition to withdraw from the Hospital District.

With the petition, Madison County residents of Big Sky aimed to withdraw from the Hospital District, citing the taxpayers within the boundary of the special hospital district have been unable to utilize the services provided due to proximity and an inability to access those services in Madison County. Madison County residents of Big Sky would need to commute 2.5 hours and through an adjoining county to have access to the services funded through taxes they currently pay to this special hospital district. The signatures collected targeted the eligible list of qualified voters identified by the advice and methodology provided by the Madison County Clerk & Recorder last October. More than 240 signatures were collected, enough to meet the 51% threshold requirement for a hearing on the merits, and in December 2023 the petition was filed.

Minutes into the January 18, 2024, hearing, the meeting adjourned after the Clerk & Recorder announced that approximately 200 signatures were disregarded and therefore the petition did not contain enough eligible signatures for the hearing to take place. In a subsequent follow up with the Clerk & Recorder, advocates learned the methodology applied in January was different from the original framework provided, and further that multiple signatures eligible even under the Clerk & Recorder’s second methodology were erroneously rejected. Despite the coalition’s best efforts, the Madison County Commission refused to reconsider the Clerk & Recorder’s erroneous methodology and signature tally and refused to hold a hearing on the merits of the petition.

The complaint filed in Madison County’s Fifth Judicial Court details four counts seeking preliminary and permanent injunctive relief and asks the court to enter an order directing the Commissioners to cease levying taxes on Plaintiffs to fund the special hospital district, given that it appears the special hospital district does not legally exist and/or is not operating properly under Montana law. The request also asks the court to direct the Commissioners to find the original petition meets the required threshold for signatures, and to schedule a time for a hearing on the merits of the petitioners’ requested withdrawal from the special hospital district within the 2024 calendar year. The petitioners assert their tax dollars should fund services within their community that they actually receive and use, rather than fund services they cannot and do not access.

The complaint filed today can be found here. To learn more about the Wellness Coalition, visit www.wellnesscoalitionbigsky.com.