Officials consider asking voters for new sales tax

Posted 5/21/15

“I think it’s the general consensus that if we can’t do better than we did the last time, then there’s no sense trying,” said Powell Mayor Don Hillman, saying they obviously need a better plan than the one from three years ago.

In 2012, …

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Officials consider asking voters for new sales tax

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Local voters didn’t want a new sales tax in 2012 — but how about now?

Government leaders from around Park County are wondering whether it’s worth going back to voters next year and asking for an extra 1 cent sales tax to bolster the budgets of the county and its cities.

“I think it’s the general consensus that if we can’t do better than we did the last time, then there’s no sense trying,” said Powell Mayor Don Hillman, saying they obviously need a better plan than the one from three years ago.

In 2012, more than 60 percent of voters said no to raising Park County’s sales tax to 5 percent.

Officials from Powell, Cody, Meeteetse and Park County have been meeting informally to bat around the idea of trying again.

They have yet to decide what to do.

“Every time that you do something and it fails, then it makes it that much harder the next time,” said Cody Mayor Nancy Tia Brown. “So if we go forward with it, it would have to be because ... we have a fairly strong sense from the community that they have a better understanding and are willing to be open-minded and give it another go-round.”

The general pitch is that local governments need more money to properly maintain and improve infrastructure such as roads, bridges and sewer systems.

While the tax is a big ask, “it would make a huge difference in the level of infrastructure repairs and maintenance and additions that we could do, and perhaps some other things,” Brown said. She suggested the money could also be used on “quality of life infrastructure” such as Powell’s aquatic center or Cody’s recreation center.

At a Friday meeting in Cody, representatives from the three municipalities and the county heard some suggestions from a consultant on how to better educate and rally the public about a proposed tax. George K. Baum and Co., which spoke with the officials by phone and free-of-charge, helps with tax-related ballot measures around the state and country.

One of last week’s ideas was to survey local residents on a 1 cent tax and potential uses for the money.

Park County Commission Chairman Joe Tilden supports that idea, as does Mayor Brown, though Hillman isn’t sure it would be worth it.

They all agreed there would be a need to better inform the public on exactly how their additional tax dollars would be used and why the money is needed.

Tilden said the big mistake in 2012 was that the pitch “painted a very broad brush with infrastructure needs, and the majority of people aren’t really aware of what those infrastructure needs are.”

Though there had been a tentative list of potential projects, “to me, if you want to try to get something done, you need to come up with specific projects,” Tilden said.

Brown said the public would need to be engaged earlier in the process.

“It’s got to be a community effort — like you and me and the guy that lives out north of town,” said Hillman. “That’s the only way that I think it’d work.”

Among Wyoming’s 23 counties, Park County is one of two that has a sales tax rate of 4 percent instead of 5 or 6 percent.

Officials estimated in 2012 that adding a fifth penny would mean $6.5 million a year for Park County, the cities of Cody and Powell, and the town of Meeteetse. Around 30 percent of that sum would be paid by visitors, they said.

Unlike the first four cents of sales tax — of which 70 percent goes to the state — all of the money from the fifth cent would stay with local governments.

“Unfortunately, it uses the word ‘tax,’ and that has a negative connotation; but really what it is, is an investment in ourselves,” Brown said.

It takes the consent of at least two of the councils in Powell, Cody and Meeteetse plus the Park County Commission to put a tax before voters.

“The way I stand right now, ... if they (the municipalities) come to us again and want us to put it on the ballot, I’ll certainly vote to do that,” Tilden said, suspecting the majority of the other commissioners would do the same.

“Whether I vote to actually go out and support it (a tax) or not, I’m still out on that one,” he added.

While the county is looking at making budget cuts this year, Tilden doesn’t feel comfortable telling voters that the county needs the tax.

“Yes, Powell and Cody and Meeteetse desperately need it, there’s no question about that, but at the county level, you know, we’re still holding our own,” he said.

That gap in perceived need proved a part of the tax’s downfall last year.

Park County Commissioner Tim French was the leading opponent of the proposed tax increase, arguing in part that it wasn’t needed. He remains opposed.

The city of Powell balanced its budget and intends to add more than $100,000 to its reserves under the preliminary budget for this coming fiscal year. Powell also is seeking an increase on its utility rates (see related story).

Hillman said there are lists of infrastructure projects that didn’t get done this year because of unexpected problems.

“We’re putting things off that future generations are going to have to worry about,” he said.

Hillman wants to see a decision soon on whether to move forward with pitching the tax in 2016.

“If we’re going to do it, we need to get going, because it’s going to be here before we know it,” the mayor said. “But if we’re not going to do it, then just forget it.”

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