Wednesday, April 8, 2026 |
Photo – Property Tax invoices – Bigfoot99 file photo
County officials urge residents to consider what their property taxes fund before voting on additional tax cuts.
The Board of Carbon County Commissioners met yesterday morning, and while working through the agenda, the discussion eventually turned to property taxes. Commissioner Sue Jones referenced the upcoming Wyoming Homeowner’s Primary Residence Property Tax Exemption Initiative. If approved, the citizen‑led ballot measure would amend the state constitution to exempt 50 percent of the assessed value of a primary residence from property taxes.
Commissioner Jones said the state’s tax system needs refinement, but not through large‑scale statewide measures.
As an example, Commissioner Jones said the Town of Hanna receives $303,000 in property tax revenue. Cutting that amount in half, as the ballot measure proposes to do, would force residents to pay more for municipal utilities and services.
Even with the proposed property tax cuts, Commissioner Jones said tax revenue will continue to be distributed the same way, with schools receiving 70 percent, the county 18 percent, special districts eight percent, and municipalities only two percent of the total. While Carbon County may appear to have received a large amount of property tax revenue, Commissioner Jones said it only kept 18 percent, which must be used for essential services such as law enforcement, EMS, and road maintenance.
Commissioner Jones added that multiple libraries, senior centers, and museums aren’t considered essential services.
Commissioner John Johnson said residents who support the property tax relief programs may not fully understand how the revenue is used.
The Wyoming Constitution states that education is a fundamental right and that funding for it must come before all other priorities. Commission Chairman Travis Moore said confusingly, lawmakers continue to look for ways around that constitutional requirement.
Commissioner John Espy said the state is responsible for backfilling the education system’s lost tax revenue and questioned where that money will come from. Commissioner Espy asked if important state‑funded agencies, such as the Wyoming Department of Transportation, will face budget cuts.
Commissioner Espy asked if lawmakers would increase the state sales tax to make up the lost revenue, saying rural communities that produce less sales tax would be hit hardest.
Commissioner John Johnson said the Board of Commissioners has been discussing the property tax cuts for months, if not years. However, he said little is likely to change until a new group of legislators is selected during the August 18th primary elections. As it stands, Commissioner Johnson said lawmakers appear to be ignoring their constituents in favor of out‑of‑state interests.
Commissioner Espy agreed that the effort to eliminate property taxes appears to be coming from out of state. He said the end goal seems to be increasing states’ reliance on the federal government.
Commissioner John Johnson said that unlike municipalities, which can raise utility rates to compensate for lost tax revenue, the county is already at its maximum allowable mill levy. The only way the county can handle the reduced income is by cutting services, including road maintenance.
Road and Bridge Superintendent Kandis Fritz added that the reduced property tax revenue has limited the amount of anti‑dust magnesium chloride she can apply to the county’s dirt roads.
According to the Wyoming Taxpayers Association, the state’s taxpayers receive roughly $13 in services for every $1 paid in total state and local taxes. Carbon County officials are asking residents to consider what those tax dollars support before voting on the 50 percent Homeowner’s Primary Residence Property Tax Exemption Initiative.
