Teton County begins FY2026 budget review as state tax changes shrink revenues
April 14, 2025 | Teton County, Wyoming
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The Teton County Board of Commissioners began formal review of the proposed fiscal year 2026 budget on April 14, 2025, hearing department presentations after staff said an initial roughly $25 million shortfall had been trimmed to about $7.5 million through reversions and cuts.
The shortfall stems largely from recent state property-tax changes that county staff said will lower collections next year. Maureen Murphy, Teton County Clerk, told commissioners the administration and department directors identified savings that reduced the initial gap: "With the county administrator, Miss Pond, and myself, Sat and all the directors and electeds came up with savings within their both their operational budgets and capital budgets." The board scheduled further budget hearings and indicated it will make no final decisions at the April 15 regular meeting, reserving capital and FTE discussions for later sessions.
Why this matters: commissioners and staff said the county faces an atypical revenue decline driven by state law changes that cap or reduce property-tax liability for many owners, while recurring personnel and service costs remain. The shortfall compels cuts, postponements of some projects and consideration of alternative delivery models for services such as septic permitting and solid-waste diversion.
Department highlights and proposed changes
- Human resources: Justin Kizer, HR director, said moving the county payroll/HR system to Paycor will reduce software and subscription expenses, producing roughly $30,000 in savings compared with the prior vendor. Kizer also explained the county will consolidate training funds into a central HR bucket rather than multiple department lines; that central bucket is targeted at group training and systemwide learning management rather than individual requests. Jody Pond, county administration, said the recommended budget includes a lower, consolidated training allocation and that out‑of‑state nonessential travel would be cut.
- Planning and building: Chris Newbacher, director of planning and building services, said the department reduced its request by about $60,000 but still sought roughly $275,000 for third‑party plan‑review services because the county has been without a full‑time plan reviewer for about 18 months. Newbacher said hiring an in‑house plan reviewer would remove the need for that outsourcing line if the position is filled.
- Fire protection resolution and LDRs: planning staff proposed moving an existing fire protection resolution for new subdivisions into the county's Land Development Regulations (LDRs) so standards would be in one place. Chandler Windham said staff will "move the current language into the LDRs" and bring a few updates recommended by the county engineer and fire marshal; commissioners favored proceeding through the regular public process but asked staff to circulate the draft by email beforehand.
- Public works and septic permitting: Heather Overholser, director of public works, said the budget increase in her office is largely driven by a multi‑year contract with SEP OS (an online septic permitting platform). The county budgeted about $122,000 for SEP OS in FY2026 as a partial substitute for an environmental permitting engineer position that had been difficult to fill.
- Roads and capital projects: Dave Gustafson of Road and Levee described an overall 6% operating increase driven mainly by contractual snow‑removal inflation. Spring Gulch Road design work is underway with construction tentatively scheduled after FY2026; Moulton Loop pavement is not funded in FY2026 and staff said prior outreach to the homeowners association indicated they did not want to assume ownership.
- Solid waste and recycling (ISWR): Becky Keefer, ISWR superintendent, said the department's proposed operating budget includes a planned 5% increase in tip fees at the transfer station and a modest, conservative tonnage projection for FY2026. Keefer said scrap‑metal revenue is up and that ISWR projects roughly $116,000 in donations and grants and a roughly 29% projected increase in interest revenue. She noted the enterprise fund covers its own capital and operating costs and is not subsidized by the general fund.
Other notes and near‑term items
- Fairgrounds: General Services Director Sarah Mann said the fairgrounds is requesting about $125,000 from the general fund; that amount will be reviewed with the department as the budget process continues.
- IT and GIS: IT Manager Alisa Dunn said several software expenses were consolidated into the IT operating budget and the county will move a GIS administrator position (salary/benefits ~ $142,000) into IT. The IT budget also includes spending for redundant telecom circuits and cybersecurity tools.
- Personnel and comp: Clerk Murphy said the recommended budget incorporates the consultant's classification and compensation recommendations; wage discussions, potential COLAs and merit increases will be on the agenda in subsequent sessions.
What the board asked staff to do
Commissioners asked staff to circulate specific documents by email (for example, the fire protection resolution), to keep the public process open through Planning Commission and to avoid making final decisions at the next regular meeting. Commissioners also flagged potential future work-plan items—self‑certification for some building permits, PRD/PRB formula reviews and water‑quality rule updates—that could require consultant funding in future years.
Votes at a glance
- Adopt agenda (with removal of consent item 4): motion carried unanimously. (Mover: Commissioner Carman; second: Commissioner Gardner.)
- Approve payment of county vouchers (04/11/2025 run) in the amount of $1,509,142.43: approved unanimously. (Mover: Commissioner Macker; second: Commissioner Carman.)
- Approve administrative consent item (West Group Terra LLC catering for May and June events): approved unanimously. (Mover: Commissioner Macker; second: Commissioner Carlman.)
- Enter executive session for real estate discussions: approved unanimously. (Mover: Commissioner Macker; second: Commissioner Carlman.)
- Adjourn: approved unanimously.
What comes next
The commission scheduled additional budget meetings through May and emphasized that capital projects, FTE requests and classification/compensation outcomes will be discussed in depth in the coming weeks. Staff asked commissioners not to expect final votes at the April 15 meeting and to reserve decisions until after continued review and public processes where required.
The shortfall stems largely from recent state property-tax changes that county staff said will lower collections next year. Maureen Murphy, Teton County Clerk, told commissioners the administration and department directors identified savings that reduced the initial gap: "With the county administrator, Miss Pond, and myself, Sat and all the directors and electeds came up with savings within their both their operational budgets and capital budgets." The board scheduled further budget hearings and indicated it will make no final decisions at the April 15 regular meeting, reserving capital and FTE discussions for later sessions.
Why this matters: commissioners and staff said the county faces an atypical revenue decline driven by state law changes that cap or reduce property-tax liability for many owners, while recurring personnel and service costs remain. The shortfall compels cuts, postponements of some projects and consideration of alternative delivery models for services such as septic permitting and solid-waste diversion.
Department highlights and proposed changes
- Human resources: Justin Kizer, HR director, said moving the county payroll/HR system to Paycor will reduce software and subscription expenses, producing roughly $30,000 in savings compared with the prior vendor. Kizer also explained the county will consolidate training funds into a central HR bucket rather than multiple department lines; that central bucket is targeted at group training and systemwide learning management rather than individual requests. Jody Pond, county administration, said the recommended budget includes a lower, consolidated training allocation and that out‑of‑state nonessential travel would be cut.
- Planning and building: Chris Newbacher, director of planning and building services, said the department reduced its request by about $60,000 but still sought roughly $275,000 for third‑party plan‑review services because the county has been without a full‑time plan reviewer for about 18 months. Newbacher said hiring an in‑house plan reviewer would remove the need for that outsourcing line if the position is filled.
- Fire protection resolution and LDRs: planning staff proposed moving an existing fire protection resolution for new subdivisions into the county's Land Development Regulations (LDRs) so standards would be in one place. Chandler Windham said staff will "move the current language into the LDRs" and bring a few updates recommended by the county engineer and fire marshal; commissioners favored proceeding through the regular public process but asked staff to circulate the draft by email beforehand.
- Public works and septic permitting: Heather Overholser, director of public works, said the budget increase in her office is largely driven by a multi‑year contract with SEP OS (an online septic permitting platform). The county budgeted about $122,000 for SEP OS in FY2026 as a partial substitute for an environmental permitting engineer position that had been difficult to fill.
- Roads and capital projects: Dave Gustafson of Road and Levee described an overall 6% operating increase driven mainly by contractual snow‑removal inflation. Spring Gulch Road design work is underway with construction tentatively scheduled after FY2026; Moulton Loop pavement is not funded in FY2026 and staff said prior outreach to the homeowners association indicated they did not want to assume ownership.
- Solid waste and recycling (ISWR): Becky Keefer, ISWR superintendent, said the department's proposed operating budget includes a planned 5% increase in tip fees at the transfer station and a modest, conservative tonnage projection for FY2026. Keefer said scrap‑metal revenue is up and that ISWR projects roughly $116,000 in donations and grants and a roughly 29% projected increase in interest revenue. She noted the enterprise fund covers its own capital and operating costs and is not subsidized by the general fund.
Other notes and near‑term items
- Fairgrounds: General Services Director Sarah Mann said the fairgrounds is requesting about $125,000 from the general fund; that amount will be reviewed with the department as the budget process continues.
- IT and GIS: IT Manager Alisa Dunn said several software expenses were consolidated into the IT operating budget and the county will move a GIS administrator position (salary/benefits ~ $142,000) into IT. The IT budget also includes spending for redundant telecom circuits and cybersecurity tools.
- Personnel and comp: Clerk Murphy said the recommended budget incorporates the consultant's classification and compensation recommendations; wage discussions, potential COLAs and merit increases will be on the agenda in subsequent sessions.
What the board asked staff to do
Commissioners asked staff to circulate specific documents by email (for example, the fire protection resolution), to keep the public process open through Planning Commission and to avoid making final decisions at the next regular meeting. Commissioners also flagged potential future work-plan items—self‑certification for some building permits, PRD/PRB formula reviews and water‑quality rule updates—that could require consultant funding in future years.
Votes at a glance
- Adopt agenda (with removal of consent item 4): motion carried unanimously. (Mover: Commissioner Carman; second: Commissioner Gardner.)
- Approve payment of county vouchers (04/11/2025 run) in the amount of $1,509,142.43: approved unanimously. (Mover: Commissioner Macker; second: Commissioner Carman.)
- Approve administrative consent item (West Group Terra LLC catering for May and June events): approved unanimously. (Mover: Commissioner Macker; second: Commissioner Carlman.)
- Enter executive session for real estate discussions: approved unanimously. (Mover: Commissioner Macker; second: Commissioner Carlman.)
- Adjourn: approved unanimously.
What comes next
The commission scheduled additional budget meetings through May and emphasized that capital projects, FTE requests and classification/compensation outcomes will be discussed in depth in the coming weeks. Staff asked commissioners not to expect final votes at the April 15 meeting and to reserve decisions until after continued review and public processes where required.
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