Should Cheyenne, Laramie Have To Put Stormwater Fees Before Voters?

A bill that would require Wyoming cities and towns to get voter approval before imposing fees for stormwater infrastructure is slated for a third and decisive vote in the Wyoming Senate on Tuesday.

You can read Senate File 116 here. It's sponsored by Sen. Gary Crum [R-Albany County] Co-sponsors include Sens.Anderson, Boner, Gierau, Love and Nethercott and Representative(s) Andrew, Geringer and Lien.

While the bill does not specifically mention Cheyenne and/or Laramie, those two city councils attempted to impose stormwater infrastructure fees in 2025 which proved deeply unpopular in both communities. It was clear in floor debate on the bill on Monday that the bill is aimed at those two communities.

Both of those fees were put on hold.

In Laramie it remains o hold according to councilman Matt Lockhart "We’re still in a holding pattern with city council until July 1. Waiting on the lawsuits etc."

The Cheyenne Fee has also been put on hold after it was supposed to take effect on January 1. However a new proposal for a fee is slated for first reading at tonight's [Feb. 23] Council Meeting. That new fee "shall be in the amount of two thousand four hundred ten-thousandths of a dollar ($0.0024) per square foot of hard surface."

It would take effect on March 5 if approved.

Sen. Nethercott: Residents Are Upset

In floor discussion of the bill on Monday, Sen. Tara Nethercott [R-Laramie County] said Cheyenne and Laramie "got ahead of themselves and got a huge response from our constituents" with the planned fees. She went on to say "There is not a single resident within the Capitol City that I am aware of that is satisfied with what has happened. They are upset."

But even so, and despite being a sponsor of Senate File 116, Nethercott says she thinks the bill should not move forward as is and should instead be taken up as an interim topic for possible further action in 2027. She said it's dangerous to impose new laws on the entire state for "the bad actors of the minority of the cities and towns in our state."

She also said Cheyenne and Laramie have agreed to work with the legislature to provide solutions. That was echoed by Cheyenne Mayor Patrick Collins in his "Mayor's Minute" new release on Friday, in which he said

Nethercott is the Majority Floor Leader of the Wyoming Senate.