Big Mountain Fire District and several area nonprofits are receiving the first influx of funds from the newly established Big Mountain resort tax.  

Visitors to Whitefish Mountain Resort and adjacent businesses pay a 3% resort tax on goods and services. The tax collected over the last year totals about $1.5 million.  

Big Mountain Resort Area District residents voted to implement a resort tax in January 2025.  

The resort district follows the same boundaries as the Big Mountain Fire District, which includes residential areas off Big Mountain Road north of Big Mountain Trailhead.    

As the managing entity of the funds, Big Mountain Resort Area District board members presented Big Mountain Fire District with a $395,000 check this month to support additional firefighters. 

Within their 2026-27 preliminary budget, the resort district set aside $560,000 for grant requests, which will go toward nonprofits and infrastructure.  

Rounding out the budget is $338,100 of cash reserves, as well as $143,900 in administrative expenses.  

Five percent, $75,000, will go to property tax relief. For comparison, 25% of Whitefish’s resort tax goes to property tax relief. 

According to Ron Benton, chair of the resort district, the grants are yet to be determined, but some of the entities considered are DREAM Adaptive Recreation, Glacier Nordic Club, Firewise, Whitefish Ski Patrol, Flathead Valley Ski Education Foundation and Housing Whitefish.  

Benton and other residents of Big Mountain are proud to be catalysts, he said.  

"Any dent in emergency services, fire protection, workforce housing, and other things is huge," he said. "That check [to the fire district] was five years in the making."  

"The perception that this is wealth transfer for people who work three jobs to get their season passes is not reality," he added. "We're trying to preserve and increase ambulance and fire services."  

Big Mountain Fire District Chief Ben Devall said the department hired three firefighters in the last year. In addition to himself, the fire district now has the ability to ensure three are on staff at all times in addition to preventing frequent overtime. The new staff has brought the area up to par with increasing fire insurance standards and higher demand.  

He noted that the department’s response to accidents on Big Mountain is a benefit to people who pay the tax. 

Devall said by the time the department receives a patient from ski patrol, the likelihood of utilizing air transport is low. Typically, the department can transport patients to the hospital in about the same amount of time or faster than by helicopter, depending on location. 

It's also common for Big Mountain alongside the city of Whitefish to provide mutual aid, extending their reach toward Eureka and elsewhere, according to Tom Sato, fire district board member.  

"We all depend on mutual aid ... as the city of Whitefish, Kalispell, get pulled in multiple directions," Sato said.  

Outside of the operations and reach of the resort tax and fire district, property owners on Big Mountain (with the resort being the largest one) pay for round-the-clock security, helping to round out emergency assistance on the mountain. Because Big Mountain is outside of city of Whitefish limits, it falls under Flathead County Sherriff's Office jurisdiction. According to Sato, that means response times from the county can take up to an hour and a half. 

Overall, the board and surrounding residents are excited for their work in implementing the resort tax to come to fruition.  

"It's gone better than expected," Sato said. "I think the board went into it with a good attitude of, hey, there's models from Big Sky and city of Whitefish and Columbia Falls, let's learn from them to grow." 

Editor Kelsey Evans can be reached at 406-862-3505 or [email protected]. If you value local journalism, pledge your support at whitefishpilot.com/support.