Butte-Silver Bow unveils land-sales price matrix to guide property dispositions
February 12, 2026 | Silver Bow County, Montana
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Butte, Mont. — Will O'Connor, land records coordinator for Butte-Silver Bow, presented a new land-sales process and a price matrix to the council on Feb. 11 aimed at standardizing how government property is evaluated and sold.
O'Connor said the land-sales committee — which includes the treasurer, assessor, county attorney, finance and budget, planning, public works, department of reclamation and other departments — developed a matrix that sets baseline prices by category (dedicated/nonbuildable; developable and meeting the comprehensive plan; significant investment; no investment) and then applies up- or down-adjustments for six types of constraints such as Superfund status, topography, easements, public benefit and utility availability.
Using the Solomonson parcel adjacent to 17 Tullamore Street as an example, committee calculations produced a base per-square-foot figure of $5.60 that, after constraint adjustments (a 70% adjustment in the example), yielded a proposed sale figure of $1,719 — a recommendation that would still come before the council for final approval. O'Connor said the matrix is intended to supplement, not replace, the Department of Revenue (DOR) base valuation cited in local ordinance, and the council retains the option to put property to auction if it rejects a direct sale recommendation.
Commissioners asked for worked examples applying the spreadsheet to parcels the council has seen previously; O'Connor agreed to share the spreadsheet so commissioners can test sample parcels. Chief Executive Gallagher and Director Crane emphasized the matrix gives more information and that the ordinance still references DOR values as a starting point. Several commissioners praised the matrix as a useful improvement but asked that committee recommendations include brief explanations for prices and suggested the committee present revised recommendations for parcels already on the agenda.
The land-sales committee said it will continue to apply the matrix and return formal recommendations for council action.
O'Connor said the land-sales committee — which includes the treasurer, assessor, county attorney, finance and budget, planning, public works, department of reclamation and other departments — developed a matrix that sets baseline prices by category (dedicated/nonbuildable; developable and meeting the comprehensive plan; significant investment; no investment) and then applies up- or down-adjustments for six types of constraints such as Superfund status, topography, easements, public benefit and utility availability.
Using the Solomonson parcel adjacent to 17 Tullamore Street as an example, committee calculations produced a base per-square-foot figure of $5.60 that, after constraint adjustments (a 70% adjustment in the example), yielded a proposed sale figure of $1,719 — a recommendation that would still come before the council for final approval. O'Connor said the matrix is intended to supplement, not replace, the Department of Revenue (DOR) base valuation cited in local ordinance, and the council retains the option to put property to auction if it rejects a direct sale recommendation.
Commissioners asked for worked examples applying the spreadsheet to parcels the council has seen previously; O'Connor agreed to share the spreadsheet so commissioners can test sample parcels. Chief Executive Gallagher and Director Crane emphasized the matrix gives more information and that the ordinance still references DOR values as a starting point. Several commissioners praised the matrix as a useful improvement but asked that committee recommendations include brief explanations for prices and suggested the committee present revised recommendations for parcels already on the agenda.
The land-sales committee said it will continue to apply the matrix and return formal recommendations for council action.
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