Friday, SEPTEMBER 26, 2025 |
Photo – Medicine Bow Museum – Courtesy Discover Carbon County Wyoming
Medicine Bow officials are concerned about spending overruns at the local museum.
During the August 11th Medicine Bow Town Council meeting, Town Clerk and Treasurer Karen Heath reported that as part of the annual state-mandated audit, she reviewed the grants awarded to the Medicine Bow Museum. Treasurer Heath said she had to track down each individual grant and, after a thorough review, discovered that the museum had not received an advertising grant, even though the anticipated funds had already been spent.
Treasurer Heath said the town didn’t include extra museum funds in its annual budget and added that the advertising overage should come from the museum’s donation account. However, even with the added funding, the museum would still fall short by $949.40.
Mayor Justin George said the Medicine Bow Museum failed to submit a budget request, prompting the town to allocate funding based on the previous year’s expenses, which included the expected advertising grant. Treasurer Heath said current Museum Director Dawndee Yocom was not responsible for the error, but Mayor George refused to assign blame.
Treasurer Health repeated that tracking the Medicine Bow Museum’s grants was difficult. Mayor Justin George said all grants awarded to town agencies, such as the fire department, airport advisory board, or, in this case, the museum, must be submitted to the treasurer. Otherwise, the agency may be guilty of financial mismanagement.
The Medicine Bow Town Council had scheduled a workshop on September 25th to amend the annual budget. At that meeting, Mayor George said Museum Director Dawndee Yocom will be invited to speak about the advertising overage. In the meantime, the Mayor said he would meet with the Medicine Bow Museum Board to discuss proper financial practices.
The museum overage was brought up again during the September 8th Medicine Bow Town Council meeting. Mayor Pro Tem Trevor Strauch, speaking on behalf of Mayor Justin George, said a utility rate committee must meet before the town can hold the anticipated budget workshop. The museum’s advertising shortfall will be discussed at that time. Mayor Pro Tem Strauch said Mayor George advised the Council to delay any budget decisions until after that workshop occurs.
The Medicine Bow Town Council unanimously voted to table all financial discussions until after the budget workshop, which was postponed pending the September 30th utility rates committee meeting.
