JACKSON HOLE, WYO – At its joint meeting Monday, April 3, town and county officials will consider a new tax that could be targeted toward funding housing and transportation, among other local concerns.
Councilman Bob Lenz suggested the town pursue the new sales tax at a recent meeting after a general sales tax for housing and transportation was shot down by voters last November. The discussion Monday will determine if the town and county are prepared to support it through the Wyoming Association of Municipalities (WAM) and the Wyoming County Commissioners Association (WCCA).
The new tax being discussed is a general revenue sales tax but dedicated to a specific purpose. It would require the alteration of state statute to include: “An excise tax at a rate in increments of one-tenth of one percent (.1%) not to exceed a rate of two percent (2%) upon retail sales of tangible personal property, admissions and services made within the county, the revenue from the tax authorized by the qualified electors shall be used for specific designated purposes including but not limited to operations, maintenance, salaries, advertising and capital expenditures,” according to town/county documents.
The idea is that an initiative could be placed on the ballot to allow a general revenue tax that could be made permanent related to initiatives as general as housing, transportation, street maintenance, and park maintenance, for example. Additionally, it could be structured to allow two-tenths of a percent for housing and a separate two-tenths of a percent for transportation.
If supported, the initiative would ideally be formed as a resolution directing WAM to consider it at the summer WAM convention in Gillette in June, and possibly present an endorsement to the Wyoming Legislature. The new tax idea could also potentially be presented to the WCCA for their support as well. Time is of the essence. The deadline for submittal of WAM resolutions is Monday, April 17.
