Laramie County voters decided Tuesday which projects to fund through a sixth-penny sales tax. Of the seven items on the ballot, only two failed.
Among the projects was a proposal to build a new municipal court building and expand the county courthouse. That ballot item passed within such a narrow margin that it triggered a recount. County residents also green-lighted a jail expansion and a new, multi-purpose event facility.
Many of the other propositions showed near 50-50 splits, but one Cheyenne road extension had broader support. Mayor Marian Orr considered that $15 million plan to be one of the most important.
“The Christensen project will connect our commerce circle with the interstate. And not only will it provide for greater access for the business parkway, but it will significantly reduce the response time for our emergency personnel out to those business parkways and communities,” Orr said.
A local group called “Christensen Connects” organized around their support of the project.
The rejected propositions would have funded an indoor turf facility and a gymnasium for Cheyenne, as well as fire station upgrades and infrastructure projects meant for Pine Bluffs, Burns, and Albin.
Orr said the committee that designed the ballot grouped the projects so that each proposition would cost about the same amount, and would include funds for all four communities represented. In a community that has tended to turn down spending on recreational facilities, Orr said that ballot design had an impact.
“There was certainly some frustration with some of the projects being lumped together,” Orr said. “Voters were interviewed and asked why they may or may not have voted for one of those propositions that had multiple projects in it, and some people indicated that they voted against it for that reason.”
According to Orr, those individuals said no to proposals they liked if they were included with others they considered inappropriate.
Orr said the next sixth penny won’t come around until four or five years from now. Until then, the county will be working on those projects voters did approve.
Critics of sixth-penny spending said that it would put more burden on taxpayers and hurt local businesses.