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WORLAND – Washakie County Commissioners met Tuesday, to facilitate an optional sales tax meeting.

On Jan. 16, the commission originally facilitated a meeting with members currently covered under Joint Resolution 315, which splits one-cent sales tax funds, along with new parties interested in becoming sales tax recipients, in light of the state’s waning budget.

Voters most recently supported the general purpose optional one-cent tax in 2014 with 64 percent of Washakie County voters in favor. The current tax will be collected through June 30, 2019.

At Tuesday’s meeting, representatives from the 10 entities, the City of Worland, the Town of Ten Sleep, the Worland and Ten Sleep senior centers, the Worland Community Center, Crisis Prevention and Response Center, Worland Fire Protection District #1, Worland Youth Learning Center, Washakie Development Authority and Washakie County Youth Alternatives, reviewed and approved the survey.

The entities involved will be represented in a survey of county residents, to determine the order of preference. The survey will be available in the Northern Wyoming Daily News on March 17, and online at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Washakie1Percent2018 until March 29.

Currently, the majority of the tax goes to the city of Worland, followed by the Worland Community Center Complex, town of Ten Sleep and then Worland and Ten Sleep senior citizen centers and Crisis and Prevention Center.

The survey will include information on what the six entities have used the tax for during the past four years, as well as what all 10 entities plan to use the tax for, if it is again approved by voters, for the next four years.

Voters in November will decide if the one-cent general purpose tax is continued. A resolution from the county and the Worland and Ten Sleep councils must be approved in August to get the tax question on the ballot.

According to a report by the Wyoming Department of Revenue, Washakie County collected $7,210,940 in sales tax revenue in 2015, $5,860,326 in 2016 and a total of $2,791,112 in fiscal year 2017.

In addition to the 4 percent sales tax the state levies, counties may impose up to 3 percent in additional general purpose, specific purpose and economic development taxes with voter approval, according to Wyoming Statute 39-15-204.

Currently 21 of Wyoming’s 23 counties levy the general purpose tax with Park and Sublette counties not levying the general purpose tax.

By statute the general purpose tax may be continued “if favorably supported by a resolution adopted by the governing body of the county and by ordinances adopted by the governing bodies of at least a majority of the incorporated municipalities within the county.”

Big Horn County has continued the tax by resolution and ordinance. Washakie County has not considered that option, with Commission Chairman Terry Wolf stating that they prefer to bring the tax back before the voters every four years.

Eleven counties levy the specific purpose tax, including Hot Springs County, which was approved in 2016. Only one county, Goshen, levies the .25 percent tax for economic development. 

Profiles of the 10 entities seeking the sales tax revenue will be published in the Northern Wyoming Daily News, starting on Tuesday, March 13.