County Commission Discusses Tax Increment Financing in Wheatland Targeted Economic Development District
Author: Jack Smith, Publisher of Three Fork Voice
Article Published: 07/31/2026 Volume: 5 Edition: 04County Commission Discusses Tax Increment Financing in Wheatland Targeted Economic Development District
Jack Smith
Publisher of Three Forks Voice
Editor's Note: This article was originally published in the Three Forks Voice. Reprinted with the author's permission.
At a board meeting earlier this month, the Broadwater County Commission began discussing the Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Application Process for the Wheatland Targeted Economic Development District (TEDD) near the intersection of I-90 and US 287, outside of Three Forks.
Commissioner Lindsey Richtmyer said the TIF is the funding mechanism within the TEDD District.
According to Richtmyer, there is currently no formal application process in place.
"This is something that needs to be done for that district," said Richtmyer. "You've got to have some type of process that evaluates applications."
A draft of the application process states that the first step is to prepare a written application, followed by a review by the Wheatland TEDD Advisory Committee and County Commission, and a decision by the Broadwater County Commission.
Richtmyer said the TEDD Committee will review the applications, and they have a good, diverse group of people who will look at them through different lenses. She added that the Commission makes the final decision.
If an application is approved, the next steps listed in the draft are a development agreement, reimbursement, and the 'bidding process and prevailing wage' as the final step. Commission Chair Debbie Randolph said the application process is a step in the right direction toward moving forward with the Wheatland TEDD.
In an interview earlier this year, Montana Business Assistance Connection Inc. (MBAC) Senior Program Manager Eric Seidensticker shared information about the Wheatland TEDD, which was formed in 2019.
According to Seidensticker, a TEDD is created to put parameters around a very specific type of development. In this case, he said it is essentially industrial development focusing on value-added manufacturing businesses.
Seidensticker said TEDDs are created to develop infrastructure for areas that don't have water, sewer, roads, etc., and those services are installed and developed so that value-add companies can connect to them.
He added that they have also created a Tax Increment Financing District within the TEDD.
Over the last six or seven years, Seidensticker shared that there has been some development in the Wheatland TEDD, including Bridger Brewing, which also has a wastewater system, and said everybody has seen the Murdochs' sign and the talk of them going there at some point.
Seidensticker said a big focus for MBAC has been building out the TEDD with Broadwater County, while also planning for what happens when the TEDD and TIF District go away.
With TEDD's often times overlaid with special improvement districts, rural maintenance districts, and even boundaries for Water and Sewer Districts, Seidensticker said the TEDD and TIF are relied on to build out things like water, sewer, and roads for public benefit.
"These are scenarios where these districts cover costs and take ownership of assets after the TEDD and TIF go away," he said.
Once the TEDD or TIF goes away, Seidensticker said, they are really trying to come up with a structure that shows who the entity will be that manages all the assets, like water and sewer, and who will be in charge of things like billing.
In an interview last week, Richtmyer discussed the importance of water in the Wheatland TEDD and said they are trying to figure out solutions to make water more available and make things easier for anyone who wants to build and develop there, because it is in such a great spot in the county to have that development.
In February 2026, the Montana Department of Commerce announced that MBAC was awarded a $33,334 Opportunities in Rural Economies (ORE) grant.
Seidensticker said the first phase of the grant funding will focus on the Wheatland TEDD.
Because of growth in the area, Seidensticker said MBAC and Broadwater County reached out to the Department of Commerce's Community Technical Assistance Program (CTAP) several years ago as the county was updating its growth policy.
He said during this process, the county's southern end got a pretty big spotlight with what was happening in the TEDD District, new subdivisions, and the topic of water, water rights, and wastewater, which was also being exacerbated by the fact that Bozeman and Gallatin County were pushing west and impacting Broadwater County.
Through the CTAP program, Seidensticker shared that the Montana Department of Commerce hired a third-party consultant to create a Preliminary Engineering Report (PER) for the entire southern end of the county, which focused on activities within the TEDD, water availability, and water rights.
Seidensticker said that the PER produced a set of recommendations to follow through on, including beginning the first phase of planning and design for a public water system.
As far as business attraction, Seidensticker shared in a TEDD that some companies want a large building or to use infrastructure in a specific way; they need water capacity for operations while following state law, and they want to ensure there is a viable water supply for all tenants in the TEDD.
"The long-term benefit is, hopefully, an understanding that there is great water and sewer capacity in that area, and we've identified a pathway through something like a water and sewer district that can be the voice and representation for those entities that choose to invest down there," Seidensticker said.
Richtmyer said she is really hopeful about future developments in the Wheatland TEDD, but it will take time. She added that if they can get the water situation figured out, it will really help businesses.
