At their meeting on Tuesday, June 19, the Lincoln County Commissioners approved a resolution to place the sixth penny tax (officially known as the special purpose excise tax) on the November 2018 ballot for Lincoln County.

"We had a hard time looking at this tax that is imposed countywide and choosing a project that would benefit the whole county," said chairman Robert King.

Most municipalities in the county determined that the revenue from the proposed sixth penny tax would go to road projects, but the county chose to purchase equipment that they have been unable to  afford because of statewide budget constraints.

"On our list is two plow trucks — one of which will replace a machine from 1986 that's falling apart —  a sander, a backhoe and a CAT D6," King said. "This equipment will be used county-wide, and so it will benefit all of the municipalities, as well as those residents who live in the county but outside a designated municipality."

The total cost for the proposed equipment purchase for Lincoln County using the revenue from the potential sixth penny tax is $1.4 million.

This brings the total for projects using the sixth penny tax revenue in Lincoln County to $13,856,191.

According to Kemmerer City Administrator Andrew Nelson, the total anticipated revenue of the proposed sixth penny tax is $15,302,422.

Nelson, who was in the Afton office and attended the Commission meeting via video conference, told the commissioners that the tax should be able to collect enough money for the projects in less than four years.

Commissioner Kent Connelly agreed the Commission's proposed equipment purchases were a wise use of sixth penny revenue for the county.

"We as a county haven't bought anything new in four to five years because of state budget cuts," Connelly said. "If you look at our budget the past few years, that's where we've made cuts and sacrifices."

Nelson echoed the concern about state budgets and reiterated a point he has made at several sixth penny meetings about the tax's potential.

"If you're a small rural community — like pretty much all of Lincoln County — there's really no WYDOT money available for these projects," Nelson said."

Voters will vote on whether to pass the sixth penny tax in the November 2018 election.

The sixth penny tax is a one percent sales tax, and Nelson has said previously that most of the tax will be paid by industry and residents visiting Lincoln County, so the overall tax increase on locals will be minimal.

Once the amount of money specified in the Commissioners' resolution is collected, the sixth penny tax will stop.

Only after all the money is collected will it be distributed to the municipalities to complete their proposed projects.The funds must be used for the projects proposed in the resolution.

In addition to the Lincoln County Commission, all of the nine municipalities in the County have proposed projects to use the revenue from the potential sixth-penny tax.

The total proposed cost for Diamondville road projects is $2,153,814.

The City of Kemmerer has also decided that the revenue from the potential tax will be used for road projects, including repairing and repaving 5th West Avenue, Elk Street, Canyon Road south of Antelope, and a reconstruction of Dell Rio Drive west of Canyon Road. The project totals for Kemmerer are $3,147,394.

On the resolution, the town of Afton has proposed street improvement and reconstruction projects that will cost $1,851,112.

Alpine’s project on the resolution includes a reconstruction of part of Greys River Road, which will cost a total of $1,500,000.

Cokeville has proposed street improvements and replacement and rehabilitation of certain water and sewer lines. Their projects will cost $1,071,874

LaBarge’s proposed projects will cost $515,419.

Opal’s proposed projects will cost $400,000.

Star Valley Ranch has proposed street projects to be funded by the revenue, and they will cost $1,265,879.

Thayne’s project total cost is $550,000.

Nelson said the next step is for municipalities in Lincoln County to further educate the public about what the revenue from the proposed sixth penny tax will be used for, as well as answer any questions from the public.