 - Riverton school officials are paying attention to a piece of draft legislation that would change the way mills are levied for local recreation districts and boards of cooperative educational services.){kind=link}
(Riverton, WY) – Riverton school officials are paying attention to a piece of draft legislation that would change the way mills are levied for local recreation districts and boards of cooperative educational services.
Under current law, local governing boards may impose those kinds of mill levies independently.
House Bill 58 – Voter approval for mill levy imposition would instead require the mill levies to be approved by a majority of district voters at a general election.
“So it would no longer be something that we would just appoint, that we’re going to do this mill and this mill and this mill, and then we have the money,” Superintendent Jodi Ibach told the Riverton School Board during a regular meeting Jan. 27. “It would go out to our constituents to vote.”
The change could “dramatically impact” local recreation boards and boards of cooperative education, Ibach said.
It could have a negative effect on the state, too, Trustee Lynette Jeffres added, explaining that, as a levying entity, the school district currently receives a reduced rate for BOCES enrollments.
Plus, Jeffres said, it isn’t “cost-effective” to subject mill levies to a vote every four years.
HB 58 says member school districts would be responsible for the election costs associated with BOCES mill levies.
Ibach encouraged the trustees to take a look at the mill levy bill and voice their opinions about the proposal, noting that Wyoming Sen. Tim Salazar, R-Riverton, is a co-sponsor of the legislation.