Tax revenue remains steady

Sweetwater County's tax revenue will continue to hold steady, according to the Sweetwater County Treasurer's Office.

County Assessor Pat Drinkle said the county's revenues should be steady, if not a little higher, than they were last year. Natural gas is valued higher than it was last year, Drinkle said there weren't large increases in mineral valuations, with oil and trona holding steady.

"(The commissioners) are going to be happy, things are holding steady," Drinkle said.

Not everything held steady however. Underground coal's valuation did decrease this year. Drinkle said a number of reasons could factor into coal's prices being lower. She said she receives her information from the Wyoming Department of Revenue's Mineral Tax Division. She said it could stem from a sudden change in production or decrease in demand.

"There are a myriad of reasons coal could be down," she said.

Personal Property Accounts

County businesses should expect to see their yearly personal property account forms sent a little earlier this year.

Drinkle said her office is required to conduct a state-mandated software conversion, which will take place during April and will result in a two-week blackout where her staff is unable to modify or update data on their system. In response, she said the office is pushing their typical schedule ahead by six weeks, with the property accounts being mailed in early March. She estimates the 30-day protest period to end on April 10, just before the software work begins.

"If anyone has any questions, they can call me," Drinkle said. "We'll get it handled."

While real estate values are fairly straightforward, Drinkle says the person property accounts are sent to every taxable business in the county, regardless of if its a small family owned business or one of the county's mines.

Those assessments account for all of the equipment involved with a business and helps create a tax valuation on those businesses.