Town prepares for hard times

With Wyoming facing a significant drop in revenues, what are some of the possible ramifications to Moorcroft? The town, like so many small communities, depends on financial assistance from the state to upgrade infrastructure and maintain an environment which residents find pleasing to buy homes and raising families.

The State of Wyoming subsidizes the counties and towns within its borders with “direct distributions” in lieu of grocery and gas tax and Moorcroft receives approximately $125,000 annually into the general fund from this program. The other state assistance on which the town depends is the sixth cent tax that is again up for vote this November. The sixth cent tax return is often referred to as the “third specific tax”.

Mayor Dick Claar shares a candid glimpse of the situation at this time and possible implications from decisions made after the close of the legislature at the beginning of 2021. He assures residents that the state loans given for the mandatory projects already on the horizon, like the $4.9 million lagoon project, and the necessary and overdue infrastructure upgrades, like the recently completed first phase of the Powder River Water Project, have been approved by USDA and SLIB respectively.

“We’ve already identified the funding for the projects we’re doing out of the investment fees,” he says. “[When you apply], you have to prove to them that you have enough coming into that enterprise account to make the payment on your loan.”

From this financial examination, according to Claar, comes the determination from the state of whether a town should raise rates for water and sewer. When the state considers the ability of the municipality to repay loans, they will suggest raising rates if they do not believe the needed moneys will not be otherwise available.

“It is the same with the lagoon; USDA has looked at our financing and has loaned us this money based on knowing that we have enough investment fee coming in to pay that 40 year loan off,” he says.

The second phase of the Powder River Project, for which the town plans to apply to SLIB in January, will come under the same scrutiny, says Claar.

“They’re pretty diligent about looking at our finances. They don’t look at anything other than the moneys coming in under water or sewer,” he says. “They’re pretty good at looking at that and asking how we’re going to pay for it.”

SLIB meets again in January and the town plans to apply for the next phase of the Powder River Water Project; however, “I don’t know what’s going to happen,” Claar says.

“If they approve us and say ‘you need to raise rates to pay for this, then I’ll re-evaluate and say I don’t think we can do that.”

As for the sixth cent tax, which will be on the ballot in November, if it’s not approved by the voters, according to the mayor, Moorcroft, “will not be able to have a splash pad, we won’t be able to do any street improvements, we won’t be able to do any infrastructure improvements, we won’t be able to retire some existing debt and we won’t be able to do any improvements on the MTC.”

Moorcroft also will not be able to improve the landfill by purchasing cover to mitigate garbage blowing over the fence.

“Hopefully, people see the use,” Claar says, “It provides for the communities and it’s a tax that daylights out, making the tax active until $7.5 million is raised for the five entities.”

This sixth cent tax return that ended a while ago has paid for Moorcroft’s valley-pans, the installation of a waterline from the street to a business that had not been present before and the ADA access to the MTC among other things. The council plans to install restrooms at Noonan Park with much of the remaining third specific money in the town coffers.

Mayor Claar explains the consequences of not receiving the sixth cent return: “We would not be able to do any improvements, we would have to just what is in the budget which is maintain our streets as best we can, we couldn’t put any more into it, just plow them and sand them. We wouldn’t be able to do any actual repair to them or repair any infrastructure.”

Claar gives the example of Cheyenne Avenue, which is currently a series of patches.

“If we want to pave that street, it would have to come from the third specific. Our budget just covers our expenses,” he says.

Claar admits concern about the direct distribution from the state: “I’m a little bit fearful that the state is going to drop their direct distribution. Right now they pay back to the municipalities and counties $105 million a year; Moorcroft receives $125,000 annually that goes into our budget. If we lose that and don’t have the third specific, not only are we not going to be able to do improvements, but our budget is hit $125,000.”

The state, says the mayor, is committed to paying the distribution this year and, after the legislature meets in February and determines their finances, they will inform the smaller entities of their decision. However, “With the crunch, there are rumors that the direct distributions may become part of their cutting process.”

If that happens, according to the mayor, “We’ll have to tighten our belt. We’d have to figure out where we could cut $125,000 out of our budget, we’d have to cut back services, there’s no doubt about it. We have to supply water, sewer and garbage, people pay for that, but we’d have to cut services somewhere.”

Moorcroft’s council has already cut on this year’s budget. The public works department was scheduled to receive a new vehicle, but will have to get along with what they have, while the volunteer fire has felt the crunch too. The town has also historically donated around $2000 each to the library, museum and senior center, but did not do so this year.