Joe Tilden

Park County commissioners have chosen Joe Tilden to serve as the board’s chairman for 2020. Tilden, of Cody, was unanimously elected by his colleagues on Jan. 7.

He’ll be responsible for setting the commission’s agenda, leading its meetings and serving as a figurehead and occasional spokesman for the board.

Tilden, who previously served as chairman in 2015, takes over amid some tough discussions about possible cuts and fee hikes.

“My number one and probably only priority right now is to do whatever is necessary to get the county back on secure financial ground,” he said in an interview last week. “And that’s probably the one only priority that I’m going to have in 2020.”

Last year, Tilden helped lead a county budget committee that sought ways to eliminate a roughly $2 million budget deficit that forced the county to draw from reserves in 2019.

The committee found about $700,000 to $800,000 in cuts and
adjustments that Tilden described as relatively easy. And his gut feeling is that, come budget time this summer, the deficit will turn out to be closer to the $200,000 to $500,000 range.

“I don’t think it’s going to be the worst case scenario,” Tilden said.

Still, he sees a potential need to ask taxpayers for more revenue.

“We’ve lived off the back of oil and gas here in Park County for a lot of years,” Tilden said, noting that the mineral production now accounts for a significantly smaller portion of the county’s property tax base.

“The people of Park County, if they want to continue for us to provide them those services that we do now, they’ve got to realize that they’ve got to help us raise revenue,” he said. “So if that means an additional 1 cent tax, then so be it.”

Tilden recently suggested asking voters for a 1% sales and use tax to help fund general operations (a general purpose tax) for the county, City of Cody, the City of Powell and the Town of Meeteetse. However, the commissioners and leaders from the municipalities have also been discussing the possibility of asking voters for a 1% tax for a specific set of projects (a specific purpose tax) — with the potential that Northwest College would jump on board to seek funding for a new student center.

“As soon as the legislative session is over in March, we will get together and we’ll decide if we’re going to go for another cap [capital facilities] tax with specific projects or go with a general tax,” Tilden said, adding, “A lot of it depends on what happens down in the Legislature, too.”

For instance, Northwest College is hoping to receive $10 million from the Legislature to cover half the cost of the proposed $20 million Trapper Center. Meanwhile, the biennial budget proposed by Gov. Mark Gordon included $105 million for local governments, which, if approved by lawmakers, would net Park County around $340,000, Tilden said.

The county will also have to wait to see how much money the federal government provides in Payment in Lieu of Taxes.

As the board’s chairman in 2020, Tilden will generally vote only when there’s a tie between the other four commissioners or a lack of a three-vote majority.

Commissioner Lee Livingston, who was elected as vice chair, will step in to lead the commission whenever Tilden is absent or excused.

Commissioner Lloyd Thiel nominated Commissioner Dossie Overfield to serve as vice chair, but she declined the nomination. While saying she appreciated the thought, Overfield said she wanted another year of experience “for a little bit more of a learning curve.” Overfield joined the board in 2019.

Thiel noted that it’s “an election year” for Livingston, with his seat coming up for election, but Livingston said “I don’t mind” serving as vice chair in 2020.

Commissioner Jake Fulkerson — who received a round of applause for chairing the commission in 2019 — will also need to run for re-election this year if he wants to continue serving on the board.

Meanwhile, Overfield, Tilden and Thiel all have three more years remaining on their four-year terms.