County Commission to Discuss Special Election and General Purpose Tax

County Commission to Discuss Special Election and General Purpose Tax

SWEETWATER COUNTY — The Sweetwater County Commission will discuss the one-cent general purpose tax initiative that is meant to appear on the special election ballot November 2 during its meeting Tuesday.

With the election less than a month away, the Commission will be discussing the general purpose tax and will consider possible amendments, rescission, or other alternatives.

The Commission will meet Tuesday, October 5, at 8:30 a.m. at the Commissioner Chambers at the Sweetwater County Courthouse.

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On September 21, both the Commission and the Green River City Council approved a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on a one-cent general purpose sales tax informational campaign. The MOU requires each entity to pay $10,000 toward creating informational brochures to educate residents about the general purpose tax.

However, the Rock Springs City Council voted to reject the MOU. The Rock Springs City Council previously voted against placing the general purpose tax on the ballot.

Rock Springs Councilor Keaton West said during the September 21 Rock Springs City Council meeting that the Council is still waiting for information about how the money will be spent.

“There are no definitive answers and that’s hard for the public to buy into. That’s hard for our own governing body to buy into… ” West said. “There’s a lack of leadership and this is going to ultimately fail.”

During an Intergovernmental Joint Leadership meeting on September 30, Rock Springs Mayor Tim Kaumo asked the Commission which direction the county is going with the election on November 2.

“There was some talk about maybe pulling the breaks, we’re just not quite sure in what direction we’re going,” Mayor Kaumo said.

Commissioner Chairman Randy “Doc” Wendling said the Commission will be discussing the tax and the election as an agenda item on Tuesday and will have more information after that. Chairman Wendling added that there will be some legal points that will be discussed in executive session.

“Then we’ll come out and determine what we’re going to do for the county,” he said.

To view the full meeting agenda, click here. To view the meeting packet, click here.