Understanding Proposition 1

Voters on Tuesday, Nov. 3 will be deciding on the “People’s Initiative” also known as Proposition Number One on the ballot.

A vote in favor would mean people’s residential property tax would be reduced by 50% each year. This initiative was brought forward by a grass roots effort of people getting enough signatures to get this on the ballot.

At the time, nearly two years ago, people with the initiative did not feel that the Wyoming Legislature was doing enough to help with rising property taxes.

Since then, the Wyoming Legislature has enacted several measures to help reduce residential property tax.

The first is the Homeowners Exemption which gives Wyoming residents who apply 25% off their property tax. To qualify, residents must live in the home 8 months of the year or more.

The second is the Long-Term Homeowner Exemption which provides Wyoming homeowners who have paid residential property tax for 25 years or more and are 65 years or older with 50% off their property tax. This property tax relief incentive cannot be applied for in conjunction with the 25% Homeowners Exemption.

Third, there is the 4% cap on property tax increases, which caps yearly property value increases off at 4%, excluding major home improvements or property sales.

There is also the Veterans Exemption which takes $6,000 off the assessed value of a property. Any revenue the county loses with this exemption is backfilled by the state. This exemption has been in place for many years.

Proponents of Proposition 1 say the state has the money to make up the loss of revenue. The problem is that most of the property tax does not go to the state.

If you look at your property tax assessment you will not see ‘State of Wyoming.’

The only property tax revenue that goes to the state is the mills levied for school districts. That comes back to the school districts through the state’s education formula.

In Washakie County, property taxes help fund county general operations, solid waste district and the landfill, Weed and Pest District. In Hot Springs County, there are two fairly new tax districts — one for the hospital and one for the senior center; Big Horn County has many special districts funded by property tax including cemetery districts, hospital districts, senior center districts and more.

Let’s not forget about our conservation districts in each county, also funded by property tax.

If you take funding away from these districts, as levying mills from property tax is the only statutorily way they can increase revenue, where do they go for funding?

They can raise fees and we all remember the outcry when the Worland landfill trimmed hours and raised fees. Their fee increase had a domino effect with sanitation companies and the City of Worland having to raise fees.

Per the question on the ballot for Proposition 1, it states the decrease in revenue for 2028 would be $92.6 million and in 2029 it would be $95 million.

About a year ago I asked one of the organizers of the People’s Initiative Brent Bien about the impact on special districts. He said they could go to the state for funding.

If districts have to go to the state for funding it means our small special districts will be fighting for money with larger special districts across the state. We know what typically happens when a 1A team plays a 4A team, it usually does not end well for the 1A team.

Also, if the state is giving these special districts funding then they can put stipulations on how they will use those funds, just as they are doing with school districts currently.

We all want cheaper taxes but the funding has to come from somewhere. If the state does not have the funding for the counties and special districts, the Legislature may have to look at increasing sales tax.

That proposal has already been brought up in a legislative committee earlier this year.

The Legislature has worked to address the problem. I believe the 4% cap is probably one of the better solutions so people do not have to fear a large increase when their neighbor is able to sell their property at an astronomical price.

I am not going to advocate for or against this proposition. I only want you to consider the facts, understand what the taxes actually fund and what the impact could potentially be.

You decide Nov. 3.

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