Marcus Moffit slides his ballot into a voting machine as John Pawleska, an election judge, watches. Residents voted in a special election to determine if they would support a general purpose sales tax Tuesday.
Sweetwater County voters have spoken and they do not want a 1% sales tax.
Tuesday's special election resulted in a massive loss for tax, with unofficial tallies showing 5,359 against and 1,300 for the tax, out of 6,662 total ballots received.
"I think voters spoke clearly that this general purpose tax proposal is something they're not willing to support," Sweetwater County Commission Chairman Randy Wendling said.
Wendling said the commissioners gave residents a chance to have their voices heard by approving the special election, something Commissioner Mary Thoman agrees with.
"The money is needed, but we asked the voters to speak and they did," she said.
Thoman said she wasn't surprised with the results, saying the commissioners learned some valuable lessons to apply in future elections.
The tax was proposed as a means to subsidize ambulance services in Sweetwater County, fund the joint dispatch center and other emergency services, as well as provide funding to economic development efforts. Estimates by Green River Finance Director Chris Meats suggest the tax could bring in approximately $17 million of additional revenue annually and proponents claimed it would help pay the approximately $38 million emergency services, which include police and fire protection, cost the governing bodies throughout the county.
Amongst those voting against the tax were Green River residents Melissa Moffit and her son Marcus. For Melissa, the decision to vote against the general purpose tax came because it represents a blank check to local governments, with little being said about how the tax would be spent beyond public safety. She also said she supports the idea of specific use sales taxes because they both clearly define how the money would be spent and have an ending period once the amount needed for the cause is collected.
According to Sweetwater County Clerk Cindy Lane, the county processed more than 1,200 absentee ballots for the special election, showing the method remains a popular means of casting votes. Lane said the turnout was very high considering the special election focused on a single-issue ballot and was localized to Sweetwater County.
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