While nearly all Wyoming homeowners got a 25% discount on their property taxes last year, they need to submit some paperwork to receive the discount again this year. And as a March 1 deadline nears, many local homeowners still haven’t done so, says Park County Assessor Terry Call.

By Call’s estimation, roughly 10,000 individuals and couples are eligible for either the 25% reduction or the more generous 50% cut for longtime Wyomingites. However, as of late last month, only about 6,000 county residents had signed up.

“At the rate we’re going, we’re going to fall short,” Call said, encouraging people to apply.

Those who own a single family residence can again get the 25% discount (limited to the first $1 million worth of value) by affirming they lived on the property at least eight months last year. Residents can sign an affidavit online at ptd.wyo.gov/OWNEROCC or seek help from the assessor’s office by calling 307-527-8650. 

Located at the Park County Courthouse in Cody, the office can also help residents apply for the long-term homeowner tax exemption. The more generous exemption provides a 50% reduction for owners who are at least 65 years old and have paid property taxes in Wyoming for at least 25 years.

“Everybody has to apply,” Call noted during a joint Jan. 20 meeting with local lawmakers at Northwest College, “so please spread the word.”

The property tax exemptions are among a handful of relief measures passed by state lawmakers in recent years. Legislators took action after people flooded into the state during the Covid pandemic and drove up home prices in many areas, which, in turn, sent property taxes soaring.

In Park County, the total amount of assessed property taxes — which includes a substantial amount of oil and gas production alongside residential, commercial, agricultural and industrial properties — shot up from $44.9 million in 2021 to $76.3 million in 2023. This year, Call is projecting that local governments will collect about $59.1 million — about $13 million less than they would have before the various tax relief measures.

It was among a slew of statistics and figures he presented at the meeting.

“Hopefully the facts will empower us all to ask the right questions and work toward the appropriate reform,” Call said, “because this is not over.”

Lawmakers consider tax shakeup

Rep. Paul Hoeft, R-Powell, echoed that, telling the audience that “we’re not done here by stretch or means.”

“We’ve heard loud and clear that property tax is a big issue,” Hoeft said later.

Both he and Sen. Tim French, R-Powell, recalled tough conversations with Powell area seniors who said they can’t afford their taxes.

“That’s not right,” Hoeft said. “We’ve got to fix that.”

When the Legislature convenes next week, they’ll consider a significant switch: eliminating all residential property taxes and replacing them with a statewide sales tax increase from 4% to 6%. While at least one attendee liked the sound of that idea, Call played devil’s advocate, rhetorically asking if a 6% rate would “send you to Billings that much faster.”

Another bill sponsored by the Joint Revenue Committee would generally base residential property taxes on what the homeowner paid for it, then rise by no more than 2% a year. Annual increases are currently capped at 4% a year, but a property’s underlying value is based on the real estate market rather than what the owner paid.

Seeking a balance

Beyond the Budget Session, Wyoming voters will get their own say this fall, as November’s general election ballot will contain an initiative that would lower residential property taxes by 50%; it would come on top of the 25% discount already in place.

If voters pass the initiative, “then it forces our system to look hard at how we’re going to fund the things,” Hoeft said.

While the state Legislature sets the laws around property taxes, the money doesn’t go to the state government. Public K-12 schools receive the bulk of the tax dollars, but it’s also a significant source of revenue for counties and cities and nearly the sole funding source for entities like cemetery, museum and fire districts.

“I love low property taxes, too, trust me, but we do have to fund things,” Hoeft said.

He added that while he believes Park County is in good shape, “we have places in this state that are really hurting right now, and I mean bad. So how do we balance this all out?”

Call advised the half-dozen or so citizens in attendance to visit with leaders of their local special districts to understand their budgets and to ask how much money they actually need.

Rep. Rachel Rodriguez-Williams, R-Cody, later said that with no limits on the reserves held by special districts, “we have hoarders.”

Both she and Hoeft are members of the Wyoming Freedom Caucus, which has moved the Legislature in a more rightward, conservative direction. 

“... We’re trying to be the most fiscally responsible House that there’s ever been and you get a lot of pushback,” Hoeft said, though last month’s audience offered a round of appreciative applause.

The Legislature’s Budget Session begins Monday, Feb. 9.

For more information about local property taxes, visit parkcounty-wy.gov/county-assessor.