 - The Lander City Council has set a timeline for determining how to spend its remaining revenues from the half percent sales tax for economic development that was in place in Fremont County through 2024.){kind=link}
(Lander, WY) – The Lander City Council has set a timeline for determining how to spend its remaining revenues from the half-percent sales tax for economic development that was in place in Fremont County through 2024.
‘Transparency’
The discussion item was added to the council’s agenda during a regular meeting last week, eliciting concern from local resident Janelle Hahn, who asked that the topic be taken up at a later date, when “the citizens know that it’s coming up – that it’s not just slipped through on an amended agenda.”
“It’s not fair to the citizens,” Hahn said during the public comment portion of the meeting. “It is their money. They need to have input. It needs to be put on an agenda for people to show up and talk.”
Later, however, Mayor Missy White clarified that last week’s discussion was solely intended to set a timeline for the decision-making process “so we can advertise it to the public.”
“I appreciate that coming up,” she added, referring to Hahn’s comments. “(It’s) welcome. I think it’d be great to have these conversations.”
Councilmember Melinda Cox also thanked Hahn for “commenting on that.”
“I think we all agree,” Cox said. “But we need to start having the discussion about getting it on the agenda so that we can have a plan – because right now we don’t have a plan.”
Councilmember Julia Stuble echoed Cox’s sentiments, expressing appreciation for Hahn’s “interest (in) transparency.”
“I agree,” she said. “We don’t want to vote on this money without people being able to contact us about how they think it should be set. So tonight, I want to set those intentions and that timeline.”
Timeline
Stuble proposed that the timeline would begin during a regular council meeting Sept. 8 when the Wind River Transportation Authority and local commercial air service representatives could be invited to present updated requests for residual half-percent sales tax funds.
Next, Stuble said the council could hold a work session Sept. 22 to “debate” possible uses of the half-percent money.
The council would want to gather community input before that, she noted, inviting people to submit their comments and ideas to the city in the coming weeks and to participate in the public comment period that will be part of the Sept. 22 regular meeting agenda.
“I hope this results in really robust, extensive, engaged public input from stakeholders and from all the people in town,” she said, specifically mentioning the Lander Economic Development Association, the Chamber of Commerce, local emergency responders, and Fremont County School District 1. “We want to hear from you.”
If the council is able to come to “some degree of consensus in the work session – which I hope we do,” Stuble said they could plan to vote on the half-percent allocations during its first regular meeting in October.
The council voted to approve the timeline Stuble proposed.
They also asked for staff opinions about whether it would be appropriate to use some of the half-percent sales tax funding to create a corpus for future use and whether the money could be used to support local recreational opportunities and facilities.
For more information, call the City of Lander at (307) 332-2870.