Proposition 1 is not self-reliance

This November, the people of Wyoming will decide whether or not to reduce residential property taxes by 50%.

At the heart of this decision is whether we want to assume the risks associated with fewer of the services property taxes currently cover. “Assuming the risk” is not about self-reliance since the services impacted absolutely require pooled resources, not individual effort. The risk is less safety for your family on roads, less fire protection, fewer first responders and law enforcement, and less aid in distress. 

Here is some context about property taxes. Eighteen of our 23 counties currently do not collect enough property tax to self-fund schools, and all counties and towns fall short of self-funding operations. The Wyoming Legislature currently fills the gap with other statewide revenue sources. That is why we don’t already notice disruption of services due to the lack of property taxes. Can those backup plans also cover a tax cut so that there is no loss of services? This is a blind spot and part of the overall risk. Proposition 1 ignores this risk — a real deal breaker.

The backup revenue streams are highly volatile. Sales taxes, mineral severance taxes, federal mineral royalties and investment income, which represent the other major revenue sources working alongside and in support of property taxes, are all affected by factors beyond our control and often beyond our borders. 

We can’t guarantee severance taxes by forcing energy companies to drill. We can’t rely on the federal government’s commitment to leasing federal lands for exploration of minerals, providing the state with federal mineral royalties. We can’t predict the future success of the stock market to safeguard Wyoming’s investment income.

What we can control is paying property taxes and contributing to sales tax revenue, the only general revenue sources that look like “self-reliance.” If we give ourselves a tax cut, it increases our dependence on other revenue sources, weakens our core value of self-determination and increases the risk of losing our status as a modern rural state. 

A “no” vote on Proposition 1 means we know the importance of taking a personal stake in the future of Wyoming through pooled resources. A “no” vote shows our continued support for the value of small communities which depend on receiving a share of property taxes from higher property-value counties. It is one of our great historical achievements that rugged individualism and shared community values, self-interest and altruism, exist together in a dynamic balance. As a result, we have avoided the downward spiral of many rural areas around the country. We still have livable towns and cities and real tangible economic value in our communities, our businesses and our homes. Proposition 1 puts our modern rural state and personal properties at risk of systemic devaluation, a self-inflicted wound. 

Self-reliance and self-determination in Wyoming include shared responsibilities to uphold our communities and neighbors in our “one community with long streets.” It’s the Wyoming Way.