The Ravalli County Commissioners held their first meeting of 2018 on January 2 and selected Jeff Burrows as the board Chairman. Burrows takes over from Greg Chilcott. Chris Hoffman will serve as vice-chairman. The other commissioners are Doug Schallenberger and Ray Hawk.

This is the last year for a five-commissioner board in the county.

The current commissioners will all serve one more year as the head of Ravalli County's government. Next year, the board will be returned to three members, which voters demanded in a 2016 vote.

At this year's 2018 primary and general elections, only three county commission positions will be on the ballot. The newly elected commissioners will represent three reapportioned county districts.

At their first day in office, January 2019, they will draw lots to determine which one of the three will only serve two years. The other two will serve four years each, creating a staggered election schedule. It's a transition provided by Montana Code and set by the 2016 Ravalli County Local Government Study Commission.

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