Editorial:

Keep an open mind on NWC tax proposal

Posted 7/9/19

Asking local voters to approve a new tax is always a tough sell. It’s especially tough when you’ve just delivered some bad news to the community.

But that’s the position …

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Editorial:

Keep an open mind on NWC tax proposal

Posted

Asking local voters to approve a new tax is always a tough sell. It’s especially tough when you’ve just delivered some bad news to the community.

But that’s the position Northwest College leaders found themselves in last week as they started what will likely be an uphill battle for funding for a new student center.

At a July 2 Park County Commission meeting, NWC President Stefani Hicswa and Board of Trustees President Dusty Spomer rolled out a plan that would call on local voters to approve a 1 percent sales tax to help cover a portion of a roughly $20 million student center.

The proposal for the impressive-looking new center comes just a few weeks after college officials made the tough decision to lay off eight people and cut 21 other positions because of a continuing budget crunch.

Given that context, local residents could be forgiven for wondering, “is now really the time to be talking about building a prettier place for students to hang out and eat?”

But we believe the answer is yes. Part of the reason that NWC finds itself having to put people out of work is that enrollment has been sagging. And it’s a simple fact that students are drawn to schools with strong amenities and facilities.

As Commissioner Lee Livingston put it last month, “if you don’t have great infrastructure … you’re not going to recruit students.”

Further, the problems with the 50-year-old DeWitt Student Center go beyond its looks (and frustrating raised entrance) to problems with flooding and aging “bones.”

However, with all that said, we’re not in a position to endorse the tax today. As we approach the 2020 elections, we’re looking forward to hearing more details about this proposal, including other ways the project might be funded.

We continue to believe that an extra percent of sales tax remains the least painful way to raise extra money for local government projects. However, with Park County governments becoming more interested in using special 1 cent sales taxes for their infrastructure projects — and with other projects potentially in the mix for cap tax funding — we’d like to see how other options would pencil out.

Many local residents remember when West Park Hospital officials sought a $14.2 million tax to substantially upgrade the Cody hospital in 2010. Voters emphatically shot down the tax by a 2:1 margin, but West Park officials were able to quickly move forward by using bond financing. The bonds were significantly more expensive than the interest-free financing a 1 cent tax would have offered and they didn’t get a boost from tourists’ shopping. However, at least outwardly, West Park Hospital has shown no signs of being hindered by the change in plans.

If Northwest College officials can lay out all the possibilities, from bonds to loans to increased student fees and private fundraising, that will help voters make the best choice possible.

We also hope that, even in tax-adverse Park County, people keep an open mind to the possibility of supporting a 1 cent tax to help Northwest College succeed, because it may be the only viable option.

NWC is a vital part of not only the Powell community, but Park County and the entire Big Horn Basin. We need to ensure it remains a vibrant hub for students young and old to continue their educations — and we think a new student center advances that aim.

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