Cheyenne Councilman Wants Funding Cuts Reduced

Cheyenne Ward III City Council Representative Richard Johnson says he hopes state lawmakers will at least partially reduce cuts in state money for local government proposed by Governor Matt Mead.

The governor, in his proposed biennium budget, calls for a roughly 50 percent cut in state money for local governments across the state. The proposed spending cuts were made because of reduced state revenues caused by low energy prices.

Taxes on coal, oil and natural gas make up a large portion of the money used to fund state government in Wyoming, which is one of the few states without a state income tax. Wyoming also doesn't have a state property tax.

A state report released late last year said the state faces a projected revenue shortfall of roughly $617 million over the next three years compared to original projections

Johnson says he wants the Wyoming Association of Municipalities (WAM) to convince legislators to at least reduce the cuts when the legislature convenes a budget session next month.

If that doesn't happen he says he thinks the city will need to hold off on new projects for now and try to fix existing problems as cheaply as possible.

Cheyenne Mayor Rick Kaysen recently said the city potentially faces a "very tight" budget for the fiscal year which begins on July 1 if the governor's proposals are approved by lawmakers. The mayor added, however, that while cuts in city spending would have to be made he wasn't looking at any layoffs of city employees to deal with the situation.

The mayor did say that some jobs which come open might not be filled, and that the city would have to cut expenses in other areas as well.