A proposed three-quarter percent sales tax to cover ambulance services, public transportation and commercial air service in Fremont County could land on the August 2026 primary ballot after Fremont County Commissioners narrowly passed the resolution in a 3-2 vote last week.
To appear on the August ballot, the resolution must be approved by county commissioners and at least half of the county’s six municipalities. Four of those municipalities have recently voted on the measure, with three —Riverton, Lander and Hudson — approving to send the measure to voters.
The Dubois Town Council unanimously voted against the measure at its regular meeting Wednesday night. Two remaining municipalities — Shoshoni and Pavillion — have yet to vote.
If the measure makes it to the August ballot and county voters approve the tax increase, the tax would take effect on Jan. 1, 2027.
Why the Tax is Being Proposed
The Fremont County Association of Governments (FCAG) organized a new committee in October to focus on ambulance funding.
The newly formed Joint Committee on Funding Key Services was tasked with gathering information about the local ambulance system and what it costs to run the service.
The committee determined through Wyoming Department of Health data and looking at other state EMS agencies that it costs Fremont County more than $3.5 million annually to operate its local ambulance service.
Fremont County’s budget only allows $1.8 million a year to go to ambulance services.
According to the Joint Committee on Funding Key Services, the proposed sales tax would generate about $6.5 million annually.
Of that, an estimated $3.5 million would help fund county ambulance services. An approximate $2 million would fund commercial air service and about $1 million would go toward county public transportation services.
Committee Chairman Mick Pryor told the county commissioners his committee had been visiting the county’s municipalities to present the sales tax proposal, encouraging local municipalities to vote for it.
Tax Distribution Hazy
Dubois Mayor Patricia Neveaux told Cowboy State Daily she does not support the proposed sales tax, because she does not want taxpayer money to support airport and ground transportation.
The draft resolution is also purposely vague, she said, as it does not include any breakdown of how the money would be allocated across Fremont County municipalities.
Fremont County towns include Riverton and Lander but also the smaller municipalities of Dubois, Hudson, Shoshoni and Pavillion.
“We don’t receive very much in our town out of any of these special taxes,” Neveaux said.
That’s because allocations are based on population.
Fremont County has a population of just over 39,200, according to the last census. The population of Dubois hovers at around 800, though the broader 82913 zip code has an estimated 1,800 people.
Shoshoni’s population was 471 as of the last census, reflecting a 27% decline from the 2010 census. Hudson’s population was 431 and Pavillion’s was about half that.
Fremont County Commission Chairman Larry Allen asked Pryor at last week’s commissioners meeting, “Would it be better if you identified the percentages of distribution?”
Pryor said no.
“While costs are relatively well understood, in a future year, there may be a need to add monies to ground ambulance or another direction,” he told the commissioners. “If we were to enshrine that into the ballot question, it could potentially tie the hands of the services for funding.”
Pryor admitted this was a “point of contention with respect to all the municipalities.” Still, he said, “We think the best practice is to leave them absent on the question.”
To Neveaux, that means that “if things change, they’re able to change the amounts of distribution.”
“I said, ‘That’s not fair,’” Neveaux told Cowboy State Daily.
Neveaux said she does not believe county voters would approve the tax. She and all three Dubois Town Council members present at the town council meeting Wednesday voted against sending the measure to the August ballot.
In Favor
Commissioner Michael Jones spoke in favor of the resolution.
“Let’s ask the voters,” he said. “It gives us an opportunity to say, ‘At this time this is our best shot.’”
The tax would relieve some of the pressure of the county’s general fund, he added.
“If the air service showed up right now and asked for additional money, we wouldn’t have it.”
Commissioner Ron Fabrizius agreed.
The county has spent millions to fund ambulance services, he said. Local ambulance services are currently funded through property taxes.
“So, the question is, how do you want to pay for it? Do you want to pay for it on your property tax, or do you want to pay for it with a sales tax? You get one choice or the other.”
Fabrizius said he was in favor of sales tax, because “everybody pays.”
Allen said time was running out to approve a resolution for the August primary ballot.
“I’m to the point now where we need to do something, especially for the ambulance,” he said. “We’re pretty well tapped out.”
Against
Commissioner Clarence Thomas spoke against the resolution, saying, “I was hoping that that group (FCAG) would not move toward this.
“My problem with this is that we, being voted in, as servants of our constituents, we go back to them and say, ‘Well, we couldn’t come up with a reasonable idea for the government to try to settle this, so we’re just going to make you pay tax,’” Thomas said. “I would have hoped that we could have come up with a better movement of government.”
Commissioner Jennifer Wilson also expressed her disappointment, saying, “I am adamantly against this.”
To Pryor, she said, “We asked that you look at some ideas, that you think outside of the box, that you not go here. This is not what I anticipated.
“We don’t even have a statute that we have to do this,” she said. “But for the people and protecting the people and their emergency services, we do. It’s been put on us.
“I’m not in favor of this whatsoever, and I will not put my name on it,” Wilson said.
While the Pavilion Town Council has not yet officially voted on the measure, Pavilion Mayor Matt Pattison told Cowboy State Daily he does not believe in the 0.75% sales tax.
“I’m kind of going against the whole system,” he said.
Fremont County is the second largest county in Wyoming, encompassing just under 9,200 square miles.
In the county, Pattison said, “You’ve got all these small communities. We’re so spread out. And you (would have) people paying on a tax that don’t have access to that service.
“So to me, if I’m paying a tax, I should be able to receive that service.”
While an official vote was not taken, Pattison met with town council members Tuesday to talk about the measure.
“I told my council, I said, ‘Even if you voted for it, I will not sign my name to a resolution to put that on the ballot.’”
Other Municipalities Vote
The Riverton City Council was the first municipality to vote, and it approved the measure last week. Council member Karen Johnson was the sole “nay” vote.
Both the Lander City Council and the Hudson Town Council voted in favor of the measure Tuesday.
Neveaux and the Dubois Town Council hosted a special meeting on Feb. 28 — a Saturday — to inform residents about the sales tax proposal.
“We wanted people to know specifically about the 0.75% tax,” she said. “We wanted to hear from constituents about whether we were on the wrong page.”
Neveaux said she supported an ambulance service being paid for by a sales tax increase. But she does not agree with a sales tax increase covering multiple services.
“I will 100% support an ambulance service,” she said.
But for some of that tax money to go toward regional airports and ground transportation is superfluous, she said.
Neveaux said Dubois residents typically fly out of Jackson, which is in Teton County. She added, “The Riverton Airport doesn’t live within its means if it needs taxpayer funds to support it.”
Shoshoni Mayor Joel Highsmith told Cowboy State Daily the Shoshoni Town Council heard the committee’s initial presentation but has not voted on the measure yet.
“We’re working through some questions,” he said. “It could be a really good thing,” he said of the proposal, “but there are a lot of questions.”
Up In The Air
With the Fremont County Commissioners narrowly approving the measure and three of six municipalities in favor, whether the 0.75% sales tax will make it to the Fremont County voters remains in question.
In 2025, Shoshoni became the first town in Wyoming to start an ambulance service staffed by the police department.
Dubois is looking at following suit, Neveaux said.
Commissioner Jones told Cowboy State Daily he believes the tax is an equitable way to fund ambulance and air services in the county. But, he said, it’s something the voters should decide.
“I am very much in favor of putting this in front of voters and asking the question,” he said.
But, he said, “I’m not sure if it’s going to pass. We’ll see. It’s a tough one for everybody. I get it.”
Kate Meadows can be reached at kate@cowboystatedaily.com.
