JACKSON, Wyo. — Today at noon, Mayor Arne Jorgensen hosted the annual State of the Town at the Teton County Library. The informational event is intended to present information from the previous year, which includes START bus transit data, public safety, and more, alongside expectations for the year ahead.
In a different format from past addresses, Town staff organized an interactive component to the mayor’s address. From noon until 12:30 p.m., attendees milled around the Ordway Auditorium reading infographics and watching informational films on topics like the police department, planning and building, town wastewater management, the animal shelter, the town budget and public works.
During his address, Mayor Jorgensen immediately dove into those topics, from increased START bus usage to public works fixing potholes in town.
“Local government is by design more reactive, ” Mayor Jorgensen continued. Because of that and the increasing density and complexity of the town, he emphasized the importance of budgeting, and reminded attendees that the budget sessions for the Town of Jackson will occur in the spring. The fiscal year runs from July 1 until Jun 30 of the following year.
After his address, Mayor Jorgensen opened the floor for questions. Phil Powers, executive director of Protect Our Waters Jackson Hole, asked about the Town’s sources of income. (Much of the income for the Town comes from sales tax. Some comes from lodging tax, property taxes and other fees.) Other commenters asked about any discussions that may be taking place to increase the Town’s income, to which the mayor responded that he’d like to have further conversations around the topic.
Other attendees asked about water and irrigation ordinances in the Town of Jackson and how services like the Snow King Sports & Events Center ice rink in the summer time may affect water usage. The mayor emphasized that the water issue Jackson faced last summer “was irrigation, full stop.”
Last summer’s water shortage was not caused by depleted aquifers — a resource Mayor Jorgensen also believes should be conserved, given water is a finite resource in the West — but rather by the supply of water already extracted from the aquifers that is available to the municipality, which must meet demands across domestic use, irrigation, and fire suppression if a structure ignites. In practical terms, a shortage means the Town may not have sufficient water readily available to suppress a structure fire should one occur at certain times of day.
Mayor Jorgensen ended his address by emphasizing his belief in the importance of living in a thriving community. “I regularly see the trust and kindness between our citizens,” Mayor Jorgensen said. “I am proud to be Jackson’s Mayor, and I want to make decisions today that positively impact the Town for years to come.”
