JACKSON, Wyo. — This election cycle, one Specific Purpose Excise Tax (SPET) item will appear on the ballot, asking voters to state whether  they are for or against an additional penny of sales tax to fund Proposition #1: $88 million for the construction of a new Teton County Justice Center. 

The new Justice Center, already in the design phase, would combine the current Teton County Courthouse, built in 1964, and Detention Facility, built in 1984, into one building, housing the District Court, Circuit Court, Teton County and Prosecuting Attorney’s Offices, Clerk of the District Court and the Teton County Sheriff’s Offices. According to Teton County, both buildings are beyond repair or renovation with structural, safety and accessibility issues. 

Currently, the county is collecting a 1% SPET for the 15 ballot initiatives passed by voters in 2022, totaling $166 million. According to Katie Smits, Teton County Treasurer, one full year of the 2022 SPET funding has been disbursed. Because there are so many projects that will be allocated funding, Smits creates a new distribution schedule annually for the 2022 SPET measures. So far, Teton Youth and Family Services facilities upgrades and the Senior Assisted living planning have been fully funded at $2 million and $1.93 million, respectively. 

An additional penny of sales tax would bring the sales tax in Jackson and Teton County to 7%, which includes the state’s already mandated 4% sales tax. 

As a reminder, SPET stands for Specific Purpose Excise Tax, which is a voter-approved one-cent sales tax in Teton County on most goods and services excluding unprepared foods, like groceries. According to the Town and County, tourists pay more than 50% of sales tax collected in the county.

Below is a breakdown of how each cent of sales tax is used. The maximum sales tax rate for all Wyoming counties is 8%. 

First four cents
The State of Wyoming receives 69 percent of these funds. The balance, 31 percent, is shared by the Town of Jackson and Teton County, with the split based on population.

Fifth cent
The Town of Jackson and Teton County share this funding to support general operations and capital projects. The split is based on population, with a small amount off the top allocated to a Wyoming State admin fee.

Sixth and seventh cents
Funds support voter-approved projects sponsored by the Town of Jackson, Teton County and other public entities.

The county has $30 million set aside for the project and says it has explored other funding options before landing on the plan to go to voters and borrow funding upfront, so groundbreaking can occur in 2025. Based on a 2025 start, the project is estimated to cost $120 million, accounting for inflation. 

SPET collections are estimated at $22 million per year, and the county estimates the collection period for this item would end in 2029. 

In 2019, voters denied a $2 million SPET initiative “for the purpose of planning, designing, engineering, site preparation and preliminary construction costs for a new or renovated Teton County Courthouse. ” At the time, renovations weren’t off the table, and a rebuild was estimated at $60 million. All 2019 SPET measures have been allocated. 

During a June County Commission meeting, where the Commission approved the proposition, Ann Sutton, Clerk of the District Court, made public comment, sharing personal stories highlighting the importance of a new Justice Center.

“It is my belief that every member of the public, myself and yourself, could one day find ourselves in this important facility of justice,” Sutton said. “We need a safe facility, we need a secure facility, we need an accessible facility. The time is now. The courthouse can not be delayed.”

The item will appear on the ballot as follows: 

“$88,000,000.00 for the purpose of planning, designing, engineering, demolition of the old Jail, demolition of the current courthouse, and construction the new Teton County Justice Center including but not limited to the Teton County Detention Facility, District Courtroom and accompanying office space, Clerk of District Court office space, Circuit Courtroom and accompanying office space, Clerk of Circuit Court office space, County and Prosecuting Attorney’s Office space, Teton County Sheriff’s Office, and other office space.   Any unexpended funds, including any unused contingency funds, shall be placed into a designated account, the principal and interest of which shall be used for operations and maintenance of the Teton County Justice Center. This project is sponsored by Teton County.” 

More information about the history of the Justice Center and the project is available at the County’s website. A sample ballot is available here. 

Lindsay is a contributing reporter covering a little bit of everything; with an interest in local policies and politics, the environment and amplifying community voices. She's curious about uncovering the "whys" of our region and aims to inform the community about the issues that matter. In her free time, you can find her snowboarding, cooking or planning the next surf trip.