{"id":19104,"date":"2026-10-17T08:43:29","date_gmt":"2026-10-17T15:43:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/?p=19104"},"modified":"2026-10-17T08:43:29","modified_gmt":"2026-10-17T15:43:29","slug":"prop-1-supporters-blast-fire-depts-cancellation-of-trunk-or-treat-as-propaganda","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/2026\/10\/17\/prop-1-supporters-blast-fire-depts-cancellation-of-trunk-or-treat-as-propaganda\/","title":{"rendered":"Prop 1 Supporters Blast Fire Dept’s Cancellation Of Trunk Or Treat As ‘Propaganda’"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

There is big money behind the advertisements I see fighting against Proposition 1 to cut property taxes by 50%, because there are businesses that want your tax dollars with profit paying for the ad campaign. And really this is a result of the state legislature not doing enough about property taxes going up significantly with home values, only to get worse going forward as affordable housing is hard to find across the nation and more people will move to Wyoming. And it’s funny that the fire department is spending part of their budget on community outreach instead of their primary mission, which makes the point for the tax cut. And celebrating pagan Satanic Halloween is a serious management fail on its own. Also, our legislature and local government has not been doing the best job for citizens of late, and the best thing to do is cut their funding, as the local city government of Cheyenne has been agents of big tech and data centers, annexing more property while harassing citizens that resist, all while increasing surveillance on its constituents violating the fourth amendment, so time for the privacy abusers to go. And the current property tax discount of 25% on your primary residence is sneaky, as you have to sign a web form every year as they’re hoping to catch people out that don’t read their mail or forget to do it in time. On the positive, our government weasel problem in Wyoming is not as bad as other corrupt states, especially the one to the south.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/cowboystatedaily.com\/2026\/10\/16\/proposition-1-supporters-bash-fire-departments-sad-trunk-or-treat-post\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n

<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n
After the Laramie County Fire Authority said they were cancelling its trunk-or-treat due to property tax cuts, supporters of Prop 1 mocked the post as “propaganda” and said it is a political stunt “to tacitly shame people into not voting for a tax cut.”<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

By Clair McFarland<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Laramie
Laramie County Fire Authority hosts kids for Halloween in 2023. The organization announced Friday it’s not hosting the event again because of budget concerns. (Laramie County Fire Authority via Facebook)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A post in which the Laramie County Fire Authority announced that its trunk-or-treat event is cancelled this year blew up Friday, when supporters of residential property tax cuts criticized the post as “propaganda” against future cuts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We regret to announce that we will not be hosting our annual Trunk-or-Treat event his year due to budget constraints, largely resulting from reductions in property tax revenue,” the post says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The post<\/a> added, \u201cWe appreciate our community\u2019s understanding as we prioritize available funding toward essential emergency services and operations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Critics took the post not just as lamenting earlier property tax cuts, but as a veiled campaign against a deeper property tax cut facing voters on the Nov. 3 ballot. If it passes, Proposition 1 will change state law so that homeowners can claim an alternate 50% property tax exemption on home structures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

State law also contains a 25% property tax exemption option on the first $1 million in home value, a 4% cap on property tax increases from year to year, and a 50% exemption for long-term homeowners over 65 who have paid Wyoming property tax for at least 25 years and have lived in the home at least eight months.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The state also has exemptions for veterans and disabled people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

State Rep. Tom Kelly, R-Sheridan, called the post \u201cpropaganda.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat is a political tactic to tacitly shame people into not voting for a tax cut, because look what you did to the children,\u201d said Kelly in a Friday phone interview.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHere we are two weeks out from Halloween,\u201d he continued. \u201cA big graphic explicitly laments the tax cuts and now says the kids won\u2019t have their party. That is political propaganda.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fire authority\u2019s announcement comes as Prop 1 opponents emphasize that the cut will downsize the largely property-tax funded budgets of rural fire departments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To Kelly, the post only confirms the claims of government excess that originally drove Prop 1 supporters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s the government\u2019s job to be funding any holiday party, whether it\u2019s pagan or Christian,\u201d said Kelly. \u201cThe entire event can be paid for by community donations. It doesn\u2019t have to be through coercive taxation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kelly was not alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andrew Patceg, who serves on the Sheridan City Council, said he too believes the post \u201ccould be labelled as propaganda.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe number one thing we want to do is see our government agencies spending money on their core responsibilities and staying in their lane,\u201d said Patceg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He noted the fervor around the Prop 1 debate heading into the general election, and said \u201ceverybody right now is just really sensitive. Because there\u2019s a lot of people trying to inspire fear.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s in spite of what Patceg calls the relatively small impact of Prop 1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The severity of the impact depends on whom you ask.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The official figures from the Legislative Service Office, drawing from assessor data, say that Prop 1 would initially keep $109.4 million from going into local government, special district, community college and public school coffers. That\u2019s roughly double the $54 million impact of the 25% exemption, which has a $1 million value cap but applies to land and not just home structures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Laramie
Laramie County Fire Authority hosts kids for Halloween in 2023. The organization announced Friday it’s not hosting the event again because of budget concerns. (Laramie County Fire Authority via Facebook)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Not Candy<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

State Rep. Ann Lucas, R-Cheyenne, entered the fray Friday, posting: \u201cSo they can cut nonessential expenses. Good to know.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lucas added, \u201cThe government owns nothing. Every Tootsie Roll they buy is from YOUR money.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lucas did not respond to a Friday voicemail request for comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Laramie County Fire Authority Chief Jason Caughey said in a Friday phone interview that the post wasn\u2019t about candy, which he said people donate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s all the ancillary expenses, so it\u2019s the salaries of our people \u2013 all those other components that we had to look at because of our reduction in our budget this last year,\u201d said the chief.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Caughey said the department lost 38% of its budget this year and is back to a 2018 budget level \u2013 but facing 2026 level prices for diesel, staffing and other costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The department reduced the number of apparatus at last weekend\u2019s toys-for-tots event, he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A portion of the budget has been reserved for education and community engagement, he said. That includes money for plastic fire helmets for kids.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said the trunk or treat, which has been ongoing for six or seven years, \u201cgives us an opportunity to have contact with our public, to speak with them, make sure they have reflective gear if they\u2019re trick or treating that night. It allows us opportunities to share what our organization does for the community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having to cancel the event is \u201cnot fun,\u201d said Caughey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Patceg said shortages for staff, fuel, and plastic hats looked to him like \u201crather shaky arguments for what otherwise seems like it was a politically motivated cancellation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Caughey said in his own interview the post was \u201cabsolutely not\u201d meant to campaign against Prop 1, but to draw awareness to recent budget reductions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 25% property tax cut was part of that. So was a reduced ability to draw oil and gas tax revenues wrought by the Legislature, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Caughey said he hopes the public sees the department is trying to be fiscally responsible with \u201ctheir dollar.\u201d He said the department has sought and found multiple ways to cut expenses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Department personnel will still be at the county trunk or treat at the Archer Complex, Caughey added.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kelly said whether the expense is for candy or staffing and plastic helmets, the basic notion remains the same:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAn essential service is using some of their funds for a party.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lotta Noise Here<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Former state lawmaker Roger Huckfeldt, of Torrington, reflected on the post and its backlash with amazement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBoy, that was a faux pas,\u201d said Huckfeldt in a Friday interview.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Huckfeldt said he sees the pros and cons of Prop 1, and said he\u2019s tried to stay out of the public argument on it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some arguments seem disingenuous, he said, like opponents arguing that it\u2019s a way to back-door an income tax into Wyoming law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Politicians who want an income tax wouldn\u2019t hold office long, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As for the fire department\u2019s post, Huckfeldt said when he was a young volunteer firefighter, \u201cif we did something that benefitted the community, we didn\u2019t take it out of the fire department funds. We took it out of our own pockets, or we went to local businesses and asked for donations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Huckfeldt added, \u201cI\u2019m guessing things have changed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though he declined to take a public stance for or against Prop 1, Huckfeldt echoed others in calling the post \u201cpropaganda.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hours after the Fire Authority’s post a different district, Laramie County Fire District No. 1, posted that its trunk or treat is donation funded and still slated for 5-9 p.m. Oct. 30. at the Town and Country parking lot.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There is big money behind the advertisements I see fighting against Proposition 1 to cut property taxes by 50%, because there are businesses that want your tax dollars with profit paying for the ad campaign. And really this is a result of the state legislature not doing enough about property taxes going up significantly with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19104","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-wyoming"],"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\/19104","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=19104"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19104\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19105,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19104\/revisions\/19105"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19104"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19104"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19104"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}