Editor:

In the Jan. 17 Uinta County Herald’s “in our opinion” editorial about the “People’s Initiative to Limit Property Tax in Wyoming through a Homeowner’s Property Exemption” they say, it’s a “bad idea,” and if the initiative passes: “That means maintaining roads would be at a minimum; emergency services, fire protection would all be reduced; schools would have to cut staff, programs and reduce the number of out-of-town trips for sports and much more.”

Here are some facts about this initiative:

Ken Guille, administrator of the Wyoming Department of Revenue Property Tax Division has stated the following about the initiative specific to Uinta County:

• “Residential Property Taxes INCREASED 67% from 2017-2023”

• “Property Taxes sent to Education INCREASED 43% from 2017-2023”

• “Property Taxes sent to County INCREASED 44% from 2017-2023”

• “County revenue figures above are only property tax related revenues – these do not inlclude revenues counties get from federal grants, state grants, sales and use taxes, motor vehicle fees, diesel/gas taxes, cigarette taxes, liquor taxes, etc. It is not unusual for property tax revenue as a % of county budget to be 30% of total county revenue. [It is] highly likely that those other revenue sources will continue to increase — offsetting any reduction in residential property tax revenue.

I dispute the Uinta County Herald’s claim of the “disastrous consequences” to the community and consider it as a scare tactic to the public.

I challenge the Uinta County Herald to:

• Obtain the total revenue income from the last fully completed fiscal year for Uinta County, as well as the cities and school districts in Uinta County, that includes all revenue sources.

• From those figures find the total amount of revenue that comes only from “property taxes.”

• Divide the amount of “property tax” revenue in half. This will show you what the maximum “revenue loss” in dollars would have been to each entity for that year. I say maximum because the initiative only reduces “residential” property taxes by half. No other property taxes are reduced.

• Divide the “revenue loss” of each entity by the “total revenue” income of each entity. This will give you the maximum “revenue loss”, by percentage, to each entity for that year. This gives a good estimate of future reductions by percentage.

• Publish these results in the Uinta County Herald.

Using these numbers, my calculations show the overall revenue reductions by percentage as follows:

• Cities: 4% maximum

• County: 10% maximum

• Schools: Because of the school funding model in Wyoming very little or next to nothing.

• Special districts: Because these revenues are comparatively small, each will need to be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. I would propose that once reductions to each of these districts are adequately determined that reasonable adjustments be made to them, if necessary.

Taxpayer money should not be used frivolously, fiscal responsibility is a must.

Joe Webb

Lyman