County debates future of tax
By Martin Reed
Staff Writer

When it comes to ending the 1 percent optional sales tax that is funding voter-approved projects in Riverton and Lander, Fremont County commissioner Dennis Heckart summarized it best.“(It’s a) darned if we do and darned if we don’t kind of thing,” Heckart said during last week’s commission meeting.The dilemma is the tax must end on an annual quarter, and the state needs a 60-day notice for termination. As a result, the county runs the risk of collecting less than the $10.3 million authorized by voters ifthe tax stops on July 1.Otherwise, county Treasurer Scott Harnsberger could decide to end the tax on Oct. 1 with collection exceeding the voter-authorized amount by possibly $2 million.“I really believe we are going to collect enough if we cut it July 1,” Harnsberger told commissioners. “I think it’s just too close to put all our eggs in that basket.”Fremont County voters in November 2006 approved a 1 percent specific-purpose tax to fund the new Help for Health Hospice Home in Riverton and Fremont County Library in Lander expansion.Harnsberger said Wednesday if the tax does not collect the authorized amount of money, the balance for the construction projects must come from another source.That other source may be the county coffers.“My problem is a taxpayer could probably raise an issue with that,” Harnsberger said about the tax not collecting enough.Harnsberger must decide by the month’s end on whether to end the tax as of July 1 to make the 60-day notice period.“I’ve contacted the State Department of Revenue and they’re going to try to get me a figure as to what’s going to be distributed in May,” Harnsberger said.With that figure that could arrive in the next day or so, he said he will be able to determine whether to end the tax on July 1 or Oct. 1.According to Harnsberger’s collection totals, the tax has collected roughly $7.6 million since starting in May 2007. His projections for the tax collection use a figure of $700,000 per month for the remainderof the collection period. The tax has generated an average of $757,000 monthly during the collection term.Using the estimated amount, the final total would be about $10.4 million, slightly more than the amount needed for the projects. However, if the monthly collection totals fall below the $700,000 projection, thetax may not collect enough.Although the tax may end July 1, Harnsberger’s projections show tax revenue received through August because of a delay between collection and distribution to the county.“By the time the vendor collects it downtown and it gets reported to the state and the state distributes it, it takes 45 to 60 days,” Harnsberger said.Funds collected beyond the amount authorized by voters have been earmarked for purposes outlined in the voter referendum. They include an operating and maintenance account for the library and an escrowaccount for the hospice.During discussion at last week’s meeting, commissioner Pat Hickerson said he felt uncomfortable about collecting more than the voters authorized.“I guess, Mr. Chairman, if I was a voter I would be troubled” if the tax collected more than intended, Hickerson said. “I think that really sends a bad message to the voters: Oh, by the way, we’re going tocollect an extra $2 million.”Hickerson recommended to Harnsberger to end the tax as of July 1 if he was fairly confident it would collect enough.“I guess if I was 90 percent sure I would be tempted to cut it off” at the end of June, he said. “It’s a tough thing, but I think it’s also tough to go to the taxpayers and say we’re going to take an extra $2million because of the rules”Commissioner Keja Whiteman said she is concerned about not raising enough funding for the projects.“It would be scary for me to cut if off and be short,” Whiteman said. “That’s an awfully big risk to take.”Hickerson said rising fuel prices may have an effect on the amount of sales tax generated in the county due to less travel through the area.“I think the other red herring in all of this ... is we have high gas and diesel prices,” he said. “How is that going to translate to our tourism season?”Commission chairman Doug Thompson said high food and gasoline prices could lower the amount of sales tax generated.“The predictions are there is going to be an economic downturn,” Thompson said.Harnsberger said a possible solution to collecting more than the authorized amount in the tax is to offset the mill amount levied for the library.“We’re going to make up for it by collecting less property tax,” Harnsberger said of the suggestion.The dilemma has commissioners thinking about plans on how to deal with the issue the next time it arises.“What if we end up with $1 million in the pot? What if we rebate it back to the communities where it came from?” Heckart said.Although his suggestion could not legally work in the current situation because of the language in the voter referendum, that could be a possibility next time around for the tax.“Maybe we can form that as part of the question in the future,” Harnsberger said.