{"id":10706,"date":"2025-02-13T10:43:15","date_gmt":"2025-02-13T17:43:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/?p=10706"},"modified":"2025-02-14T08:55:07","modified_gmt":"2025-02-14T15:55:07","slug":"wyoming-firefighters-law-officers-fill-the-capitol-to-protest-proposed-tax-cut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/2025\/02\/13\/wyoming-firefighters-law-officers-fill-the-capitol-to-protest-proposed-tax-cut\/","title":{"rendered":"Wyoming Firefighters, Law Officers Fill The Capitol To Protest Proposed Tax Cut"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Normally, I’m very supportive of our first responders, but I think they’re damaging their position by protesting the property tax relief bill. But this is a classic example of a legislature not fixing the problem early and letting it fester. It’s a national problem with certain states preventing zoning and new home construction that has led to skyrocketing home prices, with retirees leaving and jacking up the home prices in just about all the other states, not to mention certain funds with trillions under management buying rental properties and jacking up the bidding in those markets, exasperating the problem. And with the higher property taxes and budget, they’ve had more money at their disposal to do things that aren’t necessary. The wife told me jobs to be lost here were counseling jobs at the jail among other unnecessary sounding jobs. And this is why in California they passed Proposition 13, which locked in property taxes to what you paid when you purchased your home, because the legislature wouldn’t fix the problem. I wouldn’t be opposed to this here as it would protect the retired and elderly most impacted. All that said, this reduction is only for two years, kicking the can down the road and not really fixing the problem, and a failure for the state legislature no matter what happens (probably for examples to justify jacking property taxes back up). And the local governments probably need some belt tightening, and they can always try to sell the residents on a temporary sales tax increase if essential. Technically, the first responders are being used by other forces in local government trying to ensure they don’t lose part of their budgets for other not really needed budgetary items. Whether in business or government, nobody wants to give up some of their budget for the greater good of the whole organization, so they protect their fiefdoms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/cowboystatedaily.com\/2025\/02\/12\/wyoming-firefighters-law-officers-fill-the-capitol-to-protest-proposed-tax-cut\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n

<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n
A group of Wyoming firefighters and law enforcement officers filled the state Capitol in Cheyenne on Wednesday to protest a proposed 50% property tax cut. They say it could gut the budgets of their local departments.<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

By Leo Wolfson<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
A group of Wyoming firefighters and law enforcement officers filled the state Capitol in Cheyenne on Wednesday to protest a proposed 50% property tax cut. They say it could gut the budgets of their local departments. (Matt Idler for Cowboy State Daily)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Wyoming firefighters and law enforcement officers filled the halls of the Wyoming Capitol on Wednesday to express their opposition to Senate File 69, a bill that would cut property taxes by 50% in Wyoming. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even so, the House passed SF 69 on first reading Wednesday night after a lengthy discussion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Property taxes go to support local governments, special districts and school districts, and such a large cut could gut their budgets, they said. The bill currently as written contains no backfill. It is projected to have a $285 million impact in the two years it will exist before expiring by 2027.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Laramie County Sheriff Brian Kozak described this bill on Facebook on Monday as an effort to \u201cdefund the police.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If SF 69 passes, he said it may cause his department to slash its budget by $2 million and lay off 25 employees. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI understand and support the legislator\u2019s desire to provide property tax relief, but it shouldn\u2019t be on the back of first responders, who risk their lives daily,\u201d Kozak wrote. \u201cInstead, they should permanently redirect other sources of state revenue to local government so public safety remains funded.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kozak put up a billboard in Denver last year as a way to recruit law enforcement officers fed up with the laws being passed in Colorado. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI urge the Legislature to not California our Wyoming and take care of our first responders,\u201d Kozak wrote on Facebook.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fremont County Fire Chief Chris Haslam shares Kozak\u2019s concerns and asserts there\u2019s a lack of awareness from voters who wanted property tax cuts about the services they\u2019ll be losing. He said there may be entire fire departments in Wyoming that have to shut down as a result of the cuts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn the long run, if this continues forth, there will be services lost,\u201d he told Cowboy State Daily. \u201cI don\u2019t want to say the world\u2019s going to end, we\u2019re in Wyoming we\u2019re going to figure something out. But people need to realize what services are they going to give up?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most of the special districts and emergency services around Wyoming say they aren\u2019t exactly rolling in dough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Haslam also pointed out that if a fire department\u2019s truck goes down, it will cost more than $1 million to replace it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Will deRyk of Palmer Canyon Rural Fire District 2F outside of Wheatland said the cut imposed by SF 69 would result in a nearly $20,000 hit to his department\u2019s $70,000 budget.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All but two Wyoming counties are taxing the maximum number of mills on property taxes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis needs to be a local-level decision, this does not need to be a state-level decision,\u201d deRyk said. \u201cThe state is not being affected by this. We\u2019re being affected by it at a local level. If our constituents want to reduce taxes, let them come as a local, not at the state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Haslam said in his conversations with lawmakers on this topic, \u201csome of them get it, some of them have their minds made up.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rep. Ken Pendergraft, R-Sheridan, said on the House floor Wyoming can afford to cut \u201ca lot of fat.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLet\u2019s do the work, we\u2019re going to do this the right way,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re not going to take money away from the firemen, we\u2019re not going to take money away from essential services.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Belt Tightening<\/strong>  <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Some of the people who support SF 69 say local governments need to tighten their belts, and that many entities already have healthy reserve accounts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The amount of money counties and special districts have in reserves has been a particular topic of debate, with some like Rep. Steve Johnson, R-Cheyenne, arguing that some counties have been stowing away too much money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Johnson told Cowboy State Daily on Tuesday he wants local governments to only keep a year\u2019s worth of expenses in reserves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey\u2019re not there to save money for us, they\u2019re there to save money wisely,\u201d he said. \u201cIf they have excess money, it makes their job easier. They\u2019re not there to have easy jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Johnson mentioned how Laramie County put all $32 million it collected from property taxes in reserves. Its current balance sheet shows $92 million in reserves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAll of this \u2018the sky is falling,\u2019 if they can\u2019t scare you they can\u2019t control you,\u201d Johnson said on the House floor. \u201cDon\u2019t get scared, the sky is not falling.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rep. Tom Kelly, R-Sheridan, said the 50% cut offered in the bill is too much, but the Legislature must also honor the wishes of the people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have a responsibility to be responsive to the voters and we have a responsibility to safeguard the finances of the state,\u201d Kelly said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rep. John Bear, R-Gillette, agreed and said there\u2019s been inaccurate \u201cgloom and doom\u201d portrayed by local leaders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said Kozak\u2019s comments are particularly directed at the Wyoming Freedom Caucus and inaccurate, as only the Senate and Gov. Mark Gordon has consistently rejected backfill options so far.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also characterized the debate over SF 69 as a fight between lawmakers who want to represent their local governments and their colleagues who want to represent the people. Bear said the House should represent both.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
A group of Wyoming firefighters and law enforcement officers filled the state Capitol in Cheyenne on Wednesday to protest a proposed 50% property tax cut. They say it could gut the budgets of their local departments. (Matt Idler for Cowboy State Daily)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Reserves<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Mineral-rich Campbell County has even more money than Laramie County in reserves at around $260 million. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Campbell County Commission Chairman Jim Ford told Cowboy State Daily this money is critical for supporting his county\u2019s building maintenance projects. He believes a misconception exists that counties are just putting money in reserves and not designating specific purposes for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ford also pointed out that state law requires local governments keep a certain amount of money saved for maintenance and operations of large capital facilities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not for any county a bucket of cash that\u2019s sitting there with no purpose, no job, no restrictions, no dedications,\u201d Ford said. \u201cThese are monies that have names and have jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ford said all but 15% of his county\u2019s $260 million revenues are paid by the minerals industry. He doesn\u2019t understand why people would look at having a significant amount of money in reserves as a negative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bear, a resident of Campbell County, said there is a local cemetery district there that has so much in reserves that it can operate off its investment earnings. But he agreed with Ford that the county must have adequate reserves to get through the boom and bust cycles of the minerals industry and applauds his commissioner\u2019s efforts to reduce their budget.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because of his county\u2019s dependence on minerals, some like Ford are concerned what their budget forecasts will look like into the future as those revenues continue to shrink with the decline in coal production. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou get one chance to tax those and let\u2019s put that money away and realize revenues from the investment of those funds,\u201d he said. \u201cIf we don\u2019t mess it up, we\u2019ll get to enjoy revenues off of those one-time minerals taxes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ford questions Johnson\u2019s perspective, which he characterized as believing his county should live \u201cpaycheck to paycheck.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIs there anything good about that perspective?\u201d he questioned. \u201cEven with the most fundamental perspective about conservative values and taxation and what should tax dollars be used for to zero out the account on the last day of the fiscal year? That is ridiculous to me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Commissioner John Espy represents a less affluent Carbon County, but shares many of the same concerns as Ford.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unlike in Campbell County, Espy said his county isn\u2019t able to fall back on large mineral revenues to help support its budget on lean years, with only about one-third of the budget supported by mineral revenues. His county has been using most of its reserves to support vehicle reserve accounts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During leaner times, Espy said his treasurer was instructing the commissioners to not engage certain projects just so they could make payroll costs. Now, due to saving money away, the county is in a less dire position on day-to-day costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo, not to have these reserves wouldn\u2019t be prudent for our future,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Solutions Attempted<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The House passed a 75% backfill for the eight poorest local governments and every special district around the state that already taxes a maximum mill levy in the supplement budget it passed last week, but there\u2019s no guarantee this will make it into the final budget as the Senate rejected a similar measure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also, these local entities would have to apply for the reimbursement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bear also said on the House floor Monday that firefighters should also consider the property tax relief they\u2019ll receive on their homes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rep. Bob Wharff, R-Evanston, went further, questioning why local counties are spending money on services like splash pads and recreation centers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rep. Rob Geringer, R-Cheyenne, spoke in Kozak\u2019s defense on Wednesday and unsuccessfully brought an amendment that would have provided a $100 million backfill for all government entities that receive a cut as a result of SF 69, which he portrayed as a solution for both homeowners and local governments. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI just wanted to get you to think about in your own communities, in your own fire districts, what kind of effect that\u2019s going to have, what kind of effect that\u2019s going to have on law enforcement,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bear opposed Geringer\u2019s amendment, mentioning how Gov. Mark Gordon vetoed a similar bill last year that provided a backfill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf we can\u2019t get it past the executive, I think it\u2019s important that we contemplate that,\u201d Bear said. \u201cIt\u2019s very clear how the executive feels about a backfill of this nature.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rep. Lee Filer, R-Cheyenne, said he randomly called five constituents recently to see how they felt about property taxes. Although they all liked the idea of tax cuts, they didn\u2019t like the idea of longer response times from emergency services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDoing what\u2019s right is being responsible,\u201d Filer said. \u201cWe got to where we\u2019re at in life by being responsible. Can we please be grown ups and have a true conversation about this?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The amendment died on a 41-19 vote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once again, Rep. Steve Harshman, R-Casper, brought back his blockbuster proposal<\/u><\/a> to raise the state\u2019s sales tax rate as a way of supplanting property tax cuts. After a long discussion this also failed in two separate amendments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As written, the bill will make a $140 million hit to the School Foundation Program account, but the state is constitutionally obligated to adequately fund schools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some like Rep. Julie Jarvis, R-Casper, accused lawmakers of purposely drawing down the state\u2019s savings accounts in order to defund public education and the state\u2019s larger funding mechanisms in the long run.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not in a financial crisis but we\u2019re about to be in a really big one,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd it was self-induced.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Normally, I’m very supportive of our first responders, but I think they’re damaging their position by protesting the property tax relief bill. But this is a classic example of a legislature not fixing the problem early and letting it fester. It’s a national problem with certain states preventing zoning and new home construction that has […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10706","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-world","category-wyoming"],"blocksy_meta":[],"featured_image_src":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"Jason","author_link":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/author\/jturning\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10706","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10706"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10706\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10724,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10706\/revisions\/10724"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10706"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10706"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10706"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}