By Carrie Haderlie
Wyoming Tribune Eagle
Via- Wyoming News Exchange

CHEYENNE — State senators have cut a measure to give all Wyoming homeowners property tax relief in half, after approving a 50% cut earlier this week.

The Senate approved Senate File 69, “Homeowner property tax exemption,” on second reading Friday. For days, senators caucused in the Capitol. Often directed by Sen. Majority Floor Leader Tara Nethercott, R-Cheyenne, lawmakers were asked to bring their “goldenrod” documents, detailing the rate at which property taxes have increased across Wyoming over the last few years, to caucus.

On the Senate floor, lawmakers have debated how to apply cuts that would offer taxpayers relief without cutting too deeply into funding for county and city services, education and things like special hospital districts.

On Tuesday, the Senate debated whether to provide local governments with a state backfill, or mechanism to make up lost revenue under the proposed cut. The Senate voted not to backfill any local government and then approved increasing the cut from 25% — originally included in SF 69 — to 50%. That increase was proposed in an amendment brought by Sen. Troy McKeown, R-Gillette.

Sen. Evie Brennan, R-Cheyenne, brought a second reading amendment Friday to restore the original 25% property tax reduction to the bill.

“We know that we have constituents and people in our state who are having a hard time getting the food on the table, getting clothes on their kids. We do want to provide those people with a little bit of relief,” Brennan said.

But a 50% cut could impact future generations who depend on local services, she said, as well as cut crucial services like police, fire departments and hospitals.

“We can’t afford to lose another hospital,” Brennan said. “We can’t afford for people to not be able to be close to a place that, when they have a stroke or a heart attack, that they can get the services they need within that 90 minutes to three hours.”

McKeown, who voted against bringing the reduction down from 50% to 25%, said he knows of a hospital in Campbell County that has been operating “in the red” for two years, but has a new four-tier parking structure “with marble floors.”

He added that salaries for administration are “through the roof.”

“We can give them more money,” McKeown said.”They will just spend it. It is time that some of the special districts became efficient.”

Sen. John Kolb, R-Rock Springs, said he would vote for Brennan’s amendment because Sweetwater County has already cut its own budget, and a 50% reduction would affect services. 

Sen. Stacy Jones, R-Rock Springs, noted on the floor that the senators learned 10 counties had experienced property tax increases of over 50% between 2019 and 2023, meaning that a cut of that much would effectively penalize Wyoming’s 13 remaining counties.

Across the state, property taxes increased 65.2% during that time period. That average is skewed by an outlier county, Teton, which saw the highest increase at 111%, for a collection increase in those years of $103.7 million. 

For five years in a row, Teton County has lowered its own property tax collection rate.

In Laramie County, property taxes have increased by 53.7% over the same time period, meaning the county has collected $28.9 million in additional property taxes from 2019-2023, the latest data available. 

Sweetwater County, however, saw the lowest property tax increase at 19.5%, equating to an increase of $3.6 million collected.

To address the county-by-county disparity, Sen. Cheri Steinmetz, R-Torrington, offered an amendment that would have treated counties differently based on an $850 million collection threshold. 

Counties over the threshold include Laramie, Natrona, Campbell, Sweetwater, Fremont, Park, Teton, Lincoln, Converse and Sublette — but also, those are the counties that have seen the greatest collection increases.

“I understand where we are cutting the excess that we have received in property taxes,” Steinmetz said. “This brings some balance to those smaller, hardship counties, and it sweeps in a few others to not cut to the bone.”

Sen. Tim Salazar, R-Riverton, asked how Steinmetz arrived at the $850 million cutoff; his county, he said, collects $851 million.

Steinmetz’s amendment failed. 

However, Brennan’s amendment to reduce the relief offered under SF 69 from 50% to 25% passed in a 19-12 vote.

“We are asking 13 counties to reduce their budgets to help 10 counties. Is this responsible? I don’t think it is responsible,” Jones said, suggesting that counties could take inspiration from Teton and lower their own collection rates.

“Twenty-five percent is responsible, and it still helps out every single citizen in this state that pays property taxes.”

SF 69 faces a third reading vote in the Senate next week; if it passes the Senate, it will cross over to the House of Representatives for consideration.