One of the smallest awards on Big Sky's resort tax list this year was $25,288. It pays for Skyline to show where its buses are and send real-time alerts. The largest single grant was $1,000,000, for turning the former Chopper's Grub & Pub at 77 Lone Peak Drive into the Big Sky Center for the Arts. Skyline's tracker page says the feature is "Coming in 2027." The arts building has no announced construction start date at all.
When the Big Sky Resort Area District board took final action on Oct. 22, it awarded $6,516,643 to 19 sponsors for 31 projects in fiscal year 2027, which runs from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2027. That total doesn't include large-scale capital, government administration and microgrants. The money comes from the 4% resort tax that, according to the district's collections page, businesses and short-term rental owners in the district collect on luxury goods and services, subject to exemptions. The district's resort tax ordinance lists taxable categories such as lodging, restaurant meals, alcohol and sporting-goods rentals, and it exempts necessities such as unprepared food, medicine and fuel.
Sorted by when each award reaches daily life in Big Sky, the small checks mostly come first.
The FY27 list, sorted by when you'll notice it
| When it shows up | Award | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Already funding services | Big Sky Community Library | $107,470 |
| Already funding services | Big Sky Community Food Bank, workforce food security | $97,000 |
| Already funding services | Be Well Big Sky Navigator Network | $35,000 |
| This winter | Big Sky Ski Education Foundation, youth safety equipment | $52,000 |
| Planned for 2027 | Skyline real-time tracking and notifications | $25,288 |
| Planned for 2027 | Elkhorn Downhill Trail, Moonlight Basin | $50,000 |
| Summer 2027 | Music in the Mountains free concert series | $245,500 |
| No construction date announced | Big Sky Center for the Arts building transformation | $1,000,000 |
| Phase one expected spring 2028 | Community Housing Trust, including Cold Smoke preparation | $1,050,000 |
| Expected on a ballot by 2028 | Wastewater connection, Gallatin Canyon and Firelight Meadows | $22–30 million estimate |
The list has roughly an inverse shape. The awards that are already doing their work, or will arrive by next summer, are mostly the five- and low-six-figure lines. The seven-figure lines pay for buildings and pipes that won't open for years.
The $25,288 line you'll feel on a cold bus stop
Skyline is about to switch schedules. The fall shoulder schedule runs through Nov. 22. During it, Routes 1 and 2 connect Big Sky and Bozeman for a $5 fare, local service is fare-free, and Big Sky Connect gives on-demand rides in Town Center and Meadow Village from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. The winter schedule starts Nov. 23, two days before Big Sky Resort opens for the 2026-27 season on Wednesday, Nov. 25. Skyline planned to finalize that schedule at its Oct. 15 board meeting, but the winter schedule planning page still labels the timetable a draft, so check the times again before Thanksgiving week.
The resort tax award won't change this winter's timetable. It pays for the technology that will let riders see where a bus is right now and get notified about changes, which Explore Big Sky reported the award is meant to enable. Skyline's live bus tracker page puts the arrival date at 2027. For someone who rides between Town Center and Mountain Village, it may be the award that changes a weekday morning most directly, and it is among the smallest on the list.
The trail money is an installment
The recreation category also paid for something with a near-term finish line. Southwest Montana Mountain Bike Association received its full $50,000 request for the Elkhorn Downhill Trail. In July, Explore Big Sky described the plan as a pedal-up, blue-square flow trail at Moonlight Basin. It leaves from the top of the Elkhorn Spur Climb, summits at the top of the Madison Eight and descends almost three miles to the Madison Loop. The estimated cost is $135,000. That July story said Trail Dogs, the group's Big Sky chapter, already had a $50,000 resort tax contribution and meant to build the first section in 2026 and finish the trail in 2027.
So the FY27 award is a second $50,000 on a trail that resort tax had already backed. With both installments, resort tax has covered most of the $135,000 estimate. Trail Dogs has finished a trail this way before. The Hot Dog Trail, a 3.5-mile green-circle route between Big Sky Resort and Meadow Village and Town Center, was completed in June 2026 for $212,000. Its funding came from donations, resort tax, local businesses and community foundations.
A smaller recreation line will show up sooner. The board had tentatively cut the Big Sky Ski Education Foundation's $52,000 request for youth winter safety equipment to $10,000. On Thursday it restored the full amount after a parent and foundation board member spoke for the program. That equipment goes on kids this winter.
Some of the money is already at work
Several awards fund things that are already running, so there's no future date to wait for.
- Big Sky Community Library: The Friends of the Big Sky Community Library received its full $107,470 request.
- Big Sky Community Food Bank: It received its full $97,000 for community and workforce food security. Sarah Gaither of the food bank told the board that the share of its food sourced locally rose from 33% to 44% over two years, which she credited to resources from Big Sky SNO.
- Be Well Big Sky: Its Navigator Network trains more than 25 community members to provide in-the-moment support and referrals to care. In 2025 it supported 232 people and made 86 referrals. The board awarded it zero dollars on Tuesday, then restored the full $35,000 on Thursday by moving money from the wellness district legal fund.
That Tuesday-to-Thursday change is a reminder that the final list was still moving until the last vote. Explore Big Sky quoted board chair Kevin Germain on how the board thinks about the money: "They are public tax dollars. Public tax dollars should go to those who most need it in our community." He added that "the fabric of our community is our workers."
The $1 million building is still open for business
The Arts Council of Big Sky received $1,000,000, one dollar more than its $999,999 request, for the Big Sky Center for the Arts building transformation. The plans for Phase I at 77 Lone Peak Drive include performance and event space, a youth art classroom, a pottery studio, a teaching kitchen, a gallery and multipurpose classroom, a radio station and a rooftop venue.
According to the Arts Council's August update, the Center has been open in its current form since April 2025. It has partnered with more than 60 community organizations, hosted 80-plus programs and events, and served more than 3,000 people. The update describes Phase I construction as still ahead and gives no start or finish date. The Center's progress page says it still needs $2.3 million in commitments.
So the largest grant on the list pays for a building that is already in use and whose renovation is still being funded. For now, it's easiest to see what the money is building by going inside. The Arts Council calendar lists a Día de Muertos event at 77 Lone Peak Drive on Nov. 1 and 2, this Sunday and Monday. A middle and high school pottery course runs there through Nov. 11.
The arts category's other big awards follow a clearer calendar. The Warren Miller Performing Arts Center got its full $250,000 for 2026-27 cultural programming. Music in the Mountains got $245,500 of its $255,000 request for the free 2027 concert series.
The biggest dollars point to 2028
The housing awards and the one large-scale capital item are both long-term. The Big Sky Community Housing Trust received its full $1.05 million. That includes $550,000 for housing preservation, which converts homes into affordable long-term rentals and provides rent assistance. The other $500,000 goes to operations that support the stewardship of 191 workforce homes and preparation for the Cold Smoke development. Explore Big Sky reported that Cold Smoke broke ground near Meadow Village on Oct. 7. It's planned for 389 workforce homes, and phase one is expected to open in spring 2028.
The capital item is larger still and sits outside the annual grant pool. The board unanimously voted to support the Big Sky County Water and Sewer District's centralized wastewater and beneficial reuse project. It is estimated at $22 million to $30 million, and the district expects to put it before voters by 2028. The project would connect the Gallatin Canyon and Firelight Meadows county water and sewer districts to Big Sky's centralized system. Board member John Zirkle said the vote was "mainly to signal an interest and commitment from the board that will lead to a lot more details." According to the same report, phase two of the Water Resource Recovery Facility would add capacity equal to 7,000 single-family equivalents, a measure of sewer demand that board members tied to future workforce housing.
The conservation money falls in between. The Gallatin River Task Force received $849,935 across five fully funded projects. They include the West Fork restoration and a Gallatin River restoration that addresses streambank damage from unmanaged recreation. Grow Wild received $348,489 across four awards. River work like this shows up slowly, season by season.
What happens in November
The Oct. 22 votes took effect that day. The resort tax allocations page says a resolution formalizing all award decisions will go before the BSRAD board at its November meeting. Board members also plan to take a closer look at the water and sewer district agreement in November. For a resident following the money, November is the month the list becomes official, and the 2027 projects come after that: the bus tracker, the rest of the Elkhorn trail and the summer concert series.
This post is general information, not legal or tax advice. If you have a question about collecting or paying the resort tax, please confirm it with the district or a tax professional.
Some of what the resort tax pays for shows up quickly, like a bus you can track or a trail you can ride. Some of it, like sewer capacity and workforce housing, plays out over years. I follow both closely, and with my background in construction and development, the infrastructure lines are the ones I watch most. If you'd like to talk through what Big Sky's upcoming projects could mean for a property you own or are considering, Carissa Maus (Paulson) would be glad to help. Schedule a free consultation.
