JACKSON, Wyo. — Following multiple discussions between the County and Town, Teton County voters will see a Special Excise Tax (SPET) question on the general election ballot asking to collect funding for a new County Justice Center.
The Town Council and Board of County Commissioners met on July 1 and July 8 for Joint Information Meetings that focused solely on negotiating a deal that would benefit both entities — approval of the SPET initiative in exchange for helping the Town solve a $4 million budget deficit.
State statute requires municipalities within a county to also approve county-wide SPET initiatives before they can appear on the ballot. The deadline for the ballot language to be submitted is July 17, making the negotiations that much more timely.
The saga came to somewhat of a close on Monday, July 15, when the Town moved a motion to approve the SPET initiative for the November ballot. The motion carried no other contingencies and if the SPET is approved by voters, the county will start collecting an additional penny of tax on goods and services (excluding groceries), to raise $88 million for a new Justice Center. Currently, the county is collecting a 1% SPET for the 15 ballot initiatives passed by voters in 2022, totaling $166 million. Â
In 2019, voters denied a $2 million SPET initiative 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.
The county has $30 million set aside for the project and explored other funding options before landing on the plan to go to voters and borrow funding upfront if the SPET is approved so groundbreaking can occur in 2025. Based on a 2025 start, the project is estimated to cost $119 million, accounting for inflation. SPET collections total about $22 million per year.
During the July 15 Council meeting, the discussion was short prior to the unanimous vote, with Councilmember Jessica Sell Chambers making the only comments.
“I am excited to vote for this, and, like I said earlier, not have this tied to any other condition,” Sell Chambers said.
While the approval allows the County to find funding, the Town is still in a $4 million deficit and its bargaining chip is off the table.
The Town initially proposed shifting the joint department funding split to 65% from the County, and 35% from the Town and also asked for the County to increase Lodging Tax collections by 2%, which would get them an estimated additional $2 million per year from each source. County commissioners were not comfortable with a 65% share of jointly funded departments without governance shifts occurring. Most shared concerns about adding the Lodging Tax to the ballot, concerned that it could tank support for the Justice Center SPET.
The discussion on July 8 bounced around with Councilmembers and Commissioners attempting to find a common ground. The County Commissioners ultimately voted unanimously to support a revised joint department funding split, phased in from the current 54% County, 46% Town over three years, to 62% from the County and 38% from the Town, contingent on the SPET being approved by voters during the general election.
Town Councilors could not be convinced it would be a good deal, voting 2-2, with Councilmembers Jessica Sell Chambers and Arne Jorgensen voting against the plan.
