Big changes in public services might be coming soon to Wyoming communities as the cumulative effects of property tax measures passed in recent legislative sessions come into focus.
That’s according to Ashley Harpstreith, the executive director of the Wyoming Association of Municipalities (WAM). They’re an advocacy group for all 99 incorporated cities and towns throughout the state.
“They all are going to have to trim,” said Harpstreith. “You're going to see, with cuts like these, [it] starting to impact services.”
The association’s 18 member board met on April 24 to talk about the property tax measures, including and especially a blanket 25% reduction to single-family homeowners’ first $1 million of their home’s fair market value. Board members consist of mayors, clerks, treasurers and council members from every region in the state.
Gov. Mark Gordon signed that property tax bill, SF 69, in the last general session, despite some lawmakers’ concerns the reduction in property tax revenue – which goes to local governments and entities, not the state – could force changes to how towns, cities, counties and special districts operate.
Tough conversations are already starting to happen. Some municipalities’ general funds, which are a portion of their overall budgets and are used to support services like law enforcement, parks and recreation, and roads, will be hit hard, Harpsteith explained.
According to numbers she provided to Wyoming Public Radio, Casper is looking at a roughly $1.8 million loss to its general fund. Cheyenne is projected to lose about $1.7 million. Laramie could lose $750,000.
For mid-size communities like Douglas, the hit is expected to be in the $400,000 range. For Pinedale, Harpstreith said it’s estimated to work out to $300,000 less in revenue.
Meanwhile, smaller towns like Ten Sleep and Shoshone will likely lose somewhere between $5,000 to $10,000 from their general funds.
But Harpstreith cautioned that hard numbers for exactly how significant reductions will be won’t come until June, when the state Department of Revenue finalizes new property tax valuations currently being determined by each county’s assessor.
“They’re going to have to tighten their belts and are prepared to do so,” Harpstreith said. “But further cuts will be devastating to communities if property tax keeps eroding.”
On the horizon is a citizen-led ballot initiative voters will decide on in 2026 that aims to slash residential property taxes in half for all Wyomingites who’ve lived in the state for at least a year.
Harpstreith said she lobbied legislators in Cheyenne on behalf of WAM during the past session about the effects of bills like the 25% reduction. Some of them were receptive to her concerns.
“But then they still would say they felt that they were providing the service of responding to high property taxes,” she said. “So, I mean, the public has to decide what they want. Do they want higher, richer services or lower taxes? And if [they want lower taxes], they're going to have to feel the pain and take the cuts.”
Towns and cities won’t have a lot of options besides reducing services, she noted. For instance, she said the city of Rock Springs is considering closing their civic center, which was in need of costly repairs even before SF 69’s passage.
Many municipalities have maxed out the number of new mill levies they can issue to generate more general fund revenue. A mill levy is the local mechanism by which municipalities, counties and special districts can generate property tax revenue. One mill represents $1 a taxpayer must pay for every $1,000 worth of assessed value in a particular area.
The state constitution says counties can issue a maximum of 12 mills, while towns and cities are capped at eight mills.
Right now, according to Wyoming Taxpayers Association Executive Director Hank Hoversland, 21 out of Wyoming’s 23 counties have already maxed out the number of mills they can issue. The two that haven’t are Teton County, which has some of the highest property tax valuations in the state, and Campbell County, which is home to a portion of the mineral-rich Powder River Basin.
The other 21 counties might not be as well off, Hoversland said.
“It may mean a reduction in services at the county level, whether that means less sheriffs out there or law enforcement or police at the municipal level, to be able to enforce laws,” said Hoversland. “It could mean slow response times on emergency services. It really remains to be seen.”
Some of Wyoming’s 99 municipalities and 23 counties might try to dip into their reserve accounts to offset the pain of property tax losses, he said, and some might choose to reduce services. Some might do a mixture of both.
Those that could wind up struggling the most are known as hardship counties, Hoversland said. A county earns “hardship” designation when “they levy one mill countywide [that] brings in less than $300,000 in revenue” in a year. He said six counties – Big Horn, Niobrara, Hot Springs, Platte, Washakie and Weston – currently qualify as hardship counties.
“Crook was at about $318,000 per mill [in 2024], and Goshen County was only at $305,000 per mill in 2024, so they didn't technically qualify as hardship counties,” Hoversland said. “But with this reduction, they may.”
Revenue generation is an option some local entities will have, Hoversland said.
“That could look like increased user fees for certain things going to the golf course or to the recreational facility in your community. Those prices could increase,” he said.
At least one local entity in Crook County is already mulling ways to raise revenue.
Crook County School District #1 has proposed an increase to their recreational mill levy. That’s according to an open letter penned by House Speaker Rep. Chip Neiman (R-Hulett) on social media. Neiman is a member of the Wyoming Freedom Caucus, which pushed for a series of property tax relief and reform measures during the last session. He also voted for the 25% cut.
In his letter, Neiman asked the school board a series of questions about the proposal.
“Have all efficiencies been found and utilized?” he wrote. “Are we so busy figuring out we can increase taxes did we stop to think about whether or not we should increase taxes, especially considering the increased amounts our citizens have been paying for the last several years?”
In a report by The Sundance Times, school board officials said they were following most Wyoming counties’ leads by raising the mill, and that it would fund public projects that benefit students and the general public.
Neiman’s letter comes after at least one local official, Casper Mayor Ray Pacheco, told WPR that “the communication between legislators and the cities and the municipalities [about the 25% cut] was really no conversation at all.”
In Wyoming, municipal budget adoption deadlines are typically no later than the third Tuesday in June. Municipalities will need to hold public budget hearings by that same deadline.
This reporting was made possible by a grant from the Corporation For Public Broadcasting, supporting state government coverage in the state. Wyoming Public Media and Jackson Hole Community Radio are partnering to cover state issues both on air and online.
