Voters in Sheridan, Wyoming, will decide in November whether to reduce property taxes — a measure called Ballot Initiative 1 that has divided property owners, educators, and taxpayer advocates.
Watch Wyoming ballot initiative story here:
Sheridan College relies on property taxes for 12 to 13 percent of its approximately $40 million budget.
While the college's board of trustees has not taken a formal position on the initiative, they released a statement warning the public that a reduction in that revenue could lead to cuts.
"Sheridan College is providing nurses for our hospital," said Sheridan College President Dr. Walter Tribey. "It's providing welders for our business. It's providing diesel mechanics. It's hospitality workers, ag workers, business workers."
Tribey said the board's resolution was intended to inform voters, not direct them.
"Our trustees passed their resolution to alert the voters, not to tell the voters how to vote," said Tribley. "But to simply say that if we lose this source of revenue, we can expect to have reduced services and programming in the future."
He also emphasized the college would not make threats about specific program cuts.
"The board did not say, nor am I, that if these taxes are not kept whole, that this program will be cut down," Tribley said. "We would never do. We didn't do that to our people that work here."
The Wyoming Taxpayers Association is opposing the ballot measure.
Hank Hoversland of the association said the homeowner's property tax exemption included in the proposal would decrease that tax by 50 percent.
He argued the measure is unnecessary because the legislature has already passed bills that lower property taxes.
"Seeing if we take a position, is it justified, stable, equitable, and transparent, and we just did not see that in this proposal. And so we will be opposing it," Hoversland said.
Officials with BCR Voter Initiatives, which led the proposal, say the financial picture is more complex.
Tax revenue used to fund schools, libraries, and fire departments comes from more than just residential property taxes — it is also collected from agriculture, commercial, industrial, and mineral industries. BCR argues that losing half of residential property taxes would represent only a small hit to overall funding.
Still, opponents of the measure say every dollar matters.
"We really believe that spreading the tax base across everyone is important, right? We don't see this as a way that actually helps to economically diversify Wyoming. We just feel that voters need to know that every dollar counts," Hoversland said.
Voters will make the final call in November.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
