Sweet Grass County

Sweet Grass County, doing business as Sweet Grass County Treasurer, is a U.S. local government entity headquartered in Big Timber, Montana that serves as a prime recipient of federal grants for airport infrastructure rehabilitation and rural economic assistance programs. The county is a Montana county government with a named subsidiary, County of Sweet Grass, which operates a hospital and nonprofit organization component.

Sweet Grass County's federal footprint is almost exclusively grant-based rather than contract-driven. The county has received 29 prime grant awards (83% of its 35 total awards) and 6 sub-awards, principally from the Department of Transportation Federal Aviation Administration Northwest Mountain Region. The top five customer agencies by award count — FAA Northwest Mountain Region (9 awards), FAA (7 awards), Department of Agriculture Forest Service (3 awards), Department of Justice Community Oriented Policing Program (2 awards), and Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2 awards) — account for 66% of recent awards. However, the potential-value rankings show extreme concentration distortion: the combined potential value across all 35 awards stands at only $13 thousand, with obligated dollars reaching $4.6 million, indicating that the vast majority of awards carry nominal ceiling values relative to actual federal funding disbursed.

Sweet Grass County's recent grant work centers on airport infrastructure improvements at Big Timber Airport, a nonprimary facility. Representative awards include a $374,869.47 Project Grant from FAA Northwest Mountain Region (awarded July 1, 2026, with period of performance through June 30, 2030) for runway, taxiway, and perimeter fencing work under the Airport Infrastructure Grants program (CFDA 20.117); a Formula Grant from the same regional office (awarded August 22, 2023, completion August 21, 2027) for general aviation apron rehabilitation and expansion; and a Project Grant (awarded August 18, 2023, completion August 17, 2027) for engineering oversight during apron construction and expansion. The county also received a Project Grant (September 8, 2022, completed September 7, 2026) for the design phase of apron expansion and a COVID-relief Project Grant (November 29, 2021, ultimate completion November 28, 2025) under the American Rescue Plan Act for airport operations and sanitization costs.

In its sub-award role, Sweet Grass County received management-cost support from the State of Montana Department of Military Affairs (October 2022) and immunization program funds from the State of Montana Department of Health and Human Services (July 2022), indicating receipt of pass-through federal grant funding from state grantees. Two awards reach ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months. The county's secondary NAICS concentrations (Support Activities for Forestry, Facilities Support Services, Security Guards and Patrol Services) and PSC codes (Housekeeping-Guard, Natural Resources/Conservation) reflect Forest Service and law-enforcement grants, but airport infrastructure work dominates recent activity and future pipeline.