CHEYENNE, Wyo. — The Finance Committee voted down a resolution during its afternoon meeting that could have supported a new funding model for Cheyenne’s animal control operations.
Sponsored by Councilmember Richard Johnson, the resolution expresses council support for House Bill 0148. The bill would have created a Special Animal Control District in each county if it had passed in the 2022 Legislative session. If the districts were established, the city could set up a mill levy, or voter-approved tax rate, that could designate funds for animal shelter and control operations. The money would be separate from the city’s General Funds, which the Cheyenne Animal Shelter, or CAS, and Animal Control Office currently receives their funding through.
“It would offset some of the expenditures that come through the city and county in regards to what we pay for the [Cheyenne] Animal Shelter,” Johnson said during the meeting. “There would be a mill established, and additional revenue would come in.”
Johnson collaborated on the resolution with Laramie County Commissioner Gunnar Malm and Cheyenne Rep. Dan Zwonitzer, who drafted the original House Bill. If the council passes the resolution, Johnson said, the city can begin working with the Wyoming Association of Municipalities and Zwonitzer to garner support for it. The new bill would be considered during the 2025 Legislative Session.
Johnson said the bill, if passed by lawmakers, can remedy the city’s concerns with finding a new funding system for CAS. For more than 20 years, the City of Cheyenne has funded the shelter’s operations through annual contracts. In March, however, the city announced it intended to cancel its contract with the shelter, citing CAS’s rising monetary requests and lack of financial transparency. Community and CAS members advocated for negotiations to continue between the city and the shelter, and the council agreed to do so in June.
The three-year contract states that the City of Cheyenne and Laramie County will pay the shelter $800,000 for fiscal year 2024, $850,000 for fiscal year 2025 and $900,000 for fiscal year 2026. Those amounts are expected to rise in the upcoming years, Johnson said, and the city is hesitant to continue paying such high amounts.
Chairman Jeff White asked if Johnson had an estimate on how much the city might save with the potential implementation of the district. Johnson said he does not, as the resolution before them is concerned with expressing support for the bill.
Councilmember Michelle Aldrich said she is concerned about residents being tax weary if the potential districts choose to utilize a levy tax for funding. The 2025 timing of the tax might coincide with the Specific Purpose Optional Tax, which is a city-induced 1% increase in the sales tax can be used for a specific period/dollar amount for certain capital projects.
Councilmember Pete Laybourn, who filled in for committee member Councilmember Scott Roybal at the meeting, called the resolution “premature.” If this will lead to a statewide change, he said, than more research needs to be done on what other counties think about it.
“When you’re taking about statewide efforts with the incredible variety we have with our counties and their funding mechanisms and responsibilities, it’s clear it’s an idea that deserves consideration, but not at this time,” he said during the meeting.
Although the committee expressed hesitation, Eric Fountain, director of the city’s Compliance Department, and Mayor Patrick Collins said they supported the resolution.
The department encompasses the city’s Animal Control, Building Permitting and Licensing, Risk Management and Code Enforcement services. Fountain said there is a complexity in asking the Legislature to reconsider a bill that was not successful before. The promise of an additional funding model is appealing, however, and the department supports the resolution.
“We are aware that we have a situation where the funding is only going to go up,” he said during the meeting.
Collins said the council has previously talked about utilizing a mill for animal control, and calculated that it could bring in the roughly $2 million that CAS needs. Establishing alternative funding would also take pressure off of the General Fund, he said. Collins said it is best for the council to pass the resolution and start campaigning early to make sure the bill makes it to the 2025 session.
“Having this resolution in hand so we can ask for statewide support so that in 2025 we can work to get this passed, I think is really looking forward rather than last minute,” he said during the meeting.
The resolution died in the committee due to a lack of a second motion.
