As Sweetwater County’s offices and agencies prepare to present budgets to the county commissioners, the funding picture for the county remains grim.
The county is looking at an $8 million shortfall in the coming fiscal year, roughly a 20-percent decrease in revenues from last year. The county commissioners voted 3-2 to notify county agencies to request at least a 20-percent decrease in funding from the previous year. The two dissenting votes come from Commissioners Reid West and Randy Wendling. Both believe the cut should have been dropped to 15 percent, which would have utilized $2 million from the county’s reserves to cover the other 5 percent in anticipated revenue shortfalls.
West asked the commissioners if the county would be hypocritical in not using its reserves at a time they’ve criticized the state legislature in not using more of its Legislative Stabilization Reserve Account, often referred to as its “rainy day fund.” Commissioner Wally Johnson thinks the county is sending a message to the other agencies it funds, claiming the 20 percent cut communicates to them that the budget will be tight. The county also plans on utilizing much of their reserves in building the planned justice center near the Sweetwater County Detention Center outside Rock Springs, another issue Johnson believes shows the state the county isn’t being hypocritical.
“It hurts everybody, but it is what it is,” Commissioner Don Van Matre said about the reduced revenues. “We have to be very responsible with this and very realistic with this.”
Both the 15 percent and 20 percent figures are starting places for the possibility of even deeper cuts if the budget calls for it. The county has already initiated freezes on wage and salary increases and will not budget for bonuses either. During the past five years, the county has decreased its workforce from 325 employees to 268. Garry McClean, the county’s human resources director, said the decrease represents a savings of approximately $3.5 million.
While the county will receive part of $105 million in rainy-day funds from the state legislature, some commissioners feel more should have been requested. In total, $185 million out of roughly $1,8 billion in total funds were released during the legislative session. The other $80 million was distributed for school facilities. Johnson said Governor Matt Meat made a mistake when he originally requested $75 million for direct distribution to counties.
“I think the governor made a mistake, he should have asked for $180 million,” Johnson said.
Sweetwater County is the third largest county in regard to its assessed valuation. Johnson believes the county is forced to deal with the impacts related to its industrial activities while sending much of the tax revenue generated within the county to the state, which is sent distributed to the other 22 counties. West said four counties, including Sweetwater County, contribute heavily to the state’s coffers.
“It’s more than a bit ironic that the legislature choses a socialistic approach,” West said.
Commissioner John Kolb said he is displeased with outcome from the recent legislative session. The formula dictating how funds are distributed to counties was changed, impacting Sweetwater County and another nine counties negatively. The change, according to Pete Obermueller, executive director of the Wyoming County Commissioners Association, helps 13 other counties with their funding.
Kolb said the decrease in funding, along with a 20 percent downturn in revenues, result in a big problem for the county. He views the change as a simplistic way of distributing funds to the counties, saying the new formula does not accurately model Sweetwater County. Kolb also believes the change came about to answer a question as to how smaller counties unable to fund themselves can stay open. Kolb thinks the problem is a legislative issue that should have more discussion in Cheyenne.
Obermueller said he doesn’t think asking for more would have resulted in more funds coming from the state. He said the WCCA originally requested $175 million, but were held to Gov. Mead’s $75 million recommendation in his budget and forced to fight for the additional $30 million ultimately funded.
Obermueller said the legislature continues to grapple with the question of what the rainy day fund should be used for, with 90 people having vastly differing opinions on its use. A recent study performed for the state suggests the $1.8 billion in the LSRA is only half of what’s needed during a sustained downturn lasting 10 years or more.
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