Yellowstone County chair announces timeline for filling commissioner Osland’s seat

The Yellowstone County Board of Commissioners chair on July 15 outlined a tentative timeline for filling the county commission seat left vacant by Commissioner Osland.

The chair said the county central committee would hold interviews for applicants and that interviews were scheduled in mid-July “in this room.” In the meeting the chair initially said interviews would be Wednesday, July 15 at 6:00 p.m., and a second speaker corrected that to July 16. The chair said the central committee was expected to forward three names to the board on July 17 and described an intention to interview applicants at a regularly scheduled board meeting, with a board vote on Tuesday, July 29.

The chair said, “we are assuming that we will have names 3 names forwarded to us on July 17 by the central committee.” The chair added, “it is further our intent that we would then have a vote on the applicants on Tuesday, July 29. ... that vote, we may select somebody, or it could possibly be we do not select anybody.” These remarks were part of the public-comments segment of the meeting and were presented as schedule information rather than as a formal board action.

No formal nomination or appointment was recorded in the transcript provided; the remarks in the meeting set public expectations for the interview and potential appointment schedule but do not constitute a final selection. The transcript also shows some confusion over exact interview dates during the exchange: the chair corrected the original date after a comment, and the board indicated the intention to handle interviews and a possible vote at upcoming meetings. The board adjourned after public comments with no additional action on the appointment during this session.