Dear editor:

I would like to update everyone on the status of the various matters that I have been tracking and following up regarding Shoshone Irrigation District (SID).

After the annual meeting earlier this year, I continued to follow up trying to locate the approved amended budget that would address the budget overage of over $450,000. I contacted both SID and the SID attorney, asking for a copy of the approved amended budget — no response. So, I then went to the District Court clerk’s office and asked for a copy of the approved amended budget. The clerks office printed out a copy of all the SID approved documents they had for the period of June 2017 to July 2024, there was no record of any amended budget for this period. I then wrote a letter to Judge Bill Simpson and reviewed the actions I had taken and the fact that President Bill Cox had stated that SID did have an amended budget approved, and I simply asked Judge Simpson, if he could help me locate a copy of the approved revised budget so that I could close my file on this matter. 

Prior to following up on the above issue, I had asked SID for more information under the Wyoming Freedom of Information Act (WFOIA) and after about four months of no response from SID, I made a formal written Complaint with the WFOIA Office, which is part of the governor’s office group. The WFOIA ombudsman informed me that they had contacted SID and that SID was not as responsive to them as they would have liked, so the ombudsman reached out and contacted the SID attorney. It was at this point that the discussion between the ombudsman and the SID attorney started, and this discussion resulted in the attorney responding to me and answering the questions that I had asked months earlier. Part of this response was to address the question that I had asked, seeking a copy of the approved revised budget that addressed the over $450,000 budget excess. To summarize the response: No revised budget was needed as there was no deficit spending.

It was about this time that I received a copy of the District Court order to “Order Fixing Time and Place of Hearing of 2024 Fiscal Year Amended Budget Report.” The order further states, “… the Judge shall examine such Amended Report, hear all Objection thereto, fix and determine the amount to be raised by assessment for the 2024 fiscal year, and cause such adjudication to be entered of records in the Court and that the matter of giving notice thereof should be fixed by this Court.” This hearing was scheduled for May 7 and I planned to attend the hearing as I would like to understand what the court expects regarding the need for amended budgets.

One other interesting item that I noted when I reviewed the document listing provided by the District Court clerk’s office was that there seemed to be no budgetary documents filed at all for the period of May 28, 2019 to July 14, 2022. Additionally, when I reviewed the SID meeting minutes for the SID monthly commissioners meeting, held on June 15, 2022, I found the following: “Kolpitcke reached out to Mary Reed (the attorney for SID) who will prepare the document to be filled (sic) for the budget. Mary Reed and Kolpitcke to verify the last filing with the court. Kolpitcke said it may have been 2018 the last time budget and assessment roll was filed.” (emphasis added) I have also sent this information to the District Court for their information and review.

There are other matters that I have been following and will update everyone in the near future. I will also update everyone next week after I attend the District Court hearing on May 7. I’m sure that one way or another that hearing will be a good learning experience for me and help me further understand the entire budgeting process and learn the expectations of the court regarding required filings.

Rob Stevens

Powell