Community Testimonials
Why should you support 1/2% for economic development?
Hear it from Fremont County citizens.
1/2% Tax Beacon of Success: Miller Bulk Foods in Riverton
"A lot of what we got wouldn’t have been possible without the help from that. And that’s the point of the program,” said owner Michael Miller. Read more on County10.
Photo by County10/Amanda Fehring
“The Forward Fremont County initiative has been making waves since it passed in August 2020, and it’s set to return to the ballot in November 2024. The significance of this tax cannot be overstated. It has been the financial backbone for county-wide transportation services and has provided essential grants for economic development projects since April 1, 2021.
“This tax isn’t just about numbers; it’s about the air service that connects our community to the world, the ground transportation that keeps our county moving, and the economic development funds that empower each community within Fremont County.
“It was a pleasure to sit down with Julie Buller and Kevin Kershisnik themselves. I’ve had the privilege of seeing them at countless events and informational meetings, working tirelessly to make Fremont County a better place for everyone. Julie Buller, with her unwavering dedication and vision, has commitment to economic development and community welfare is truly inspiring. Kevin Kershisnik, too, has been a stalwart advocate for our county’s growth. Together, they form a dynamic duo that has contributed significantly to the success of this initiative.”
Listen to the full podcast with County10 here.
Bow Spider catapults forward with 1/2% sales tax funds.
“With the expansion of our space we were able to increase the square footage of our classroom spaces. In 2021/2022, prior to the expansion, we had 32 students, 4 full time teachers, and 4 part-time teachers. In 2022/2023 with the additional space, we increased our capacity to have 40 students, 5 full-time teachers, 5 part-time teachers. In the coming school year, now that the renovation is complete, we are expanding working to find teachers so that we can have 42 students, 6 full-time teachers, 5-part-time teachers, and increase our after-school programming as well as expand our hours earlier in the morning to accommodate working parents. In total, our LIFT grant has made it possible to increase our spaces for students by 10, serve 10 more working families with childcare, and offer 2 full-time and 1 part-time job to the community. And generally the addition has improved the function of all our program offerings in ways that greatly support our teachers and parents.”
– Maureen Fox, Director
“Anam Cara is so grateful for the LIFT grant awarded to Anam Cara Caregiving. The $16,000 grant was a necessary boost that allowed us to hire 2 part time RN Case Managers that took an unsustainable load off the founder/sole RN at the time. This essential staffing adjustment not only allowed the organization to offer 24/7 RN support for clients and caregivers, but doubled the organization's impact from a consistent 12 client census to 24 client census within 1 year of the grant and hired Case Managers. Thank you LIFT committee and the Lander community for supporting Anam Cara through this generous grant opportunity."
– Sara Wilzbacher, Director
Moore Money Tips
by Teri-Anne Moore, CPA
The State of Wyoming imposes a sales tax of 4 percent on purchases of most goods except for some services, groceries and prescription drugs. The sales tax is paid to the vendor and then remitted to the state. The state keeps 69 percent of the tax collected and sends the remaining 31 percent back to the counties where it was collected. The county divides up the 31 percent among the county and municipalities based on their percentage of total county population. This sales tax is a major source of funds for Wyoming’s local governments.
A county can seek voter approval for additional taxes. Fremont County has approved the addition of a 1 percent tax for roads and repairs. The distribution of this tax is different than the base 4 percent tax, the tax collected is remitted to the state, the state retains 1 percent of the collections, and remits 99 percent of the taxes collected back to the county. So this 1 percent tax comes back to the county and towns in full (almost). This tax is renewable every four years by the voters.
The half percent tax that has been proposed for Fremont County is similar to the additional 1 percent tax, in that the county and municipalities get back 99 percent of the total tax collected. The half percent tax will be collected by the merchants, remitted to the state, then sent back to the county for distribution. 20 percent of the tax collections will go to fund the minimum revenue guarantee (MRG) for air service. 10 percent of the tax collections will go into ground transportation, for buses and services to move people around our big county. The remaining 70 percent of the tax collections will be distributed to the county and 6 municipalities based on population, which can be used for economic development projects of their choosing.
Possible projects could be: Business retention and expansion or emergency assistance, housing, community centers, sports complexes, broadband, the fair grounds, libraries, museums, repairs to water and sewer systems. Smaller communities could use the funds as matching funds to request grant funds and leverage the tax collection to get more money. Reservation projects are eligible for some of these funds. Each municipality would have citizen committees to discuss and decide on projects, and the governing body would approve or disapprove them.
For a small outlay of cash when buying merchandise, like $80 per year, the county generates some $3,200,000 from this half percent tax per year. About 1 million dollars would go to air service and ground transportation, leaving $2,200,000 for other uses. That is a lot of money we will have raised ourselves to be used in our county.
It appears that the state is in financial trouble and will not be able to fund the cities and towns. We can’t expect the federal government to keep us solvent. We need to grow up and be willing to tax ourselves to keep the services coming that we are used to having. We only have one chance to pass this optional tax on August 18, 2020 at the primary election. We urge everyone to vote YES on the half percent tax for economic development.