A take on association dues

Dear Editor,

As the Mayor of Albin, the small town we all love, I serve as the Vice-Chairman of the Board of the Wyoming Assoc of Municipalities (WAM). I can confidently say that member dues paid with municipal funding go directly toward training and educational services the association provides to the Town of Albin and the 98 other municipalities. It is essential to state that WAM's policy efforts across Wyoming and especially in Cheyenne are funded separately, without taxpayer dollars.

I recently attended the interim Joint Corporations committee hearing, and I am deeply concerned by the testimony advocating for limiting the ability of local governments to fund staff and elected officials' participation in various professional associations like WAM. The committee heard testimony from Legislators not on the Corporations Committee advocating for a prohibition on budgeting for municipalities and their staff to join professional associations. Prohibiting these expenditures will quiet the voices of Wyoming's municipalities, most of which have fewer than 1,000 residents.

The Wyoming Legislature is a time-honored example of a citizen legislature that is efficient and accessible to the state's populace. With more than 500 bills proposed each session, it is simply not feasible for all 93 legislators to fully understand every measure. The same is valid for local officials and residents across the state, especially in smaller communities with limited resources. Tracking, interpreting, and responding to complex legislation in a short session is a significant challenge.

Legislators rely on the Legislative Service Office (LSO) for nonpartisan analysis and support. Similarly, local governments depend on organizations like the WAM and the Wyoming County Commissioners Association (WCCA) to provide education, training, and coordinated advocacy. These associations ensure that the voices of Wyoming's cities, towns, and counties are heard.

Without WAM and WCCA, many of Wyoming's 99 municipalities—most small towns like mine—would face increased costs. If state law is amended, 80% of the 99 small towns would be forced to hire outside legal or consulting services to understand and implement new laws. Sometimes, the cost of responding to a single piece of legislation could exceed an entire year's membership dues.

Together, WAM and WCCA represent 100% of Wyoming's local governments. We serve the same citizens as the legislature and are responsible for implementing the laws it enacts. Limiting our ability to participate in the process would hinder local governance, but it would not help it. It would create inefficiencies, increase taxpayer costs, and reduce accountability.

This past session alone, 17 bills were introduced that would have significantly increased our local government's liability. Without coordinated input, such legislation could move forward without fully considering its impact on communities and the taxpayers who fund them.

In my 20+ years of service to the Town of Albin, I've seen the value of WAM firsthand. The association provides legislators with clear, consensus-driven input from across the state. Undermining that voice would not only diminish local representation, but it would compromise the very legislative process we all rely on.