Despite cutting everything

except “essential” items, the town of Pinedale’s

2020-2021 fiscal year’s preliminary budget

general fund increased by $80,551 over the

current year.

During May 13 and May 27 special

meetings, the council approved on first and

second readings a budget that is most certain

to change while cash reserves for the current

year are solidified with more than a month to

go. The town’s fiscal year runs July 1 through

June 30.

All five council members including

Mayor Matt Murdock, Dean Loftus, Tyler

Swafford, Nylla Kunard and Judi Boyce were

in attendance at both meetings, sprawled 10

feet apart to maintain social distancing as the

meeting was viewed online by the public.

Pinedale Town Clerk Maureen Rudnick

projected revenues would be down from both

the past two years to $1.9 million and from the

current year’s $2.6 million. She said she was

being conservative with items such as sales

and use taxes.

Some funds are lower as projects were

completed that the town had received grant

funds for reimbursement. However, Rudnick

projected declining revenues from motor

vehicle taxes, sales and use taxes, cigarette

taxes, fuel taxes and the 8-mil levies received

from property taxes. The only anticipated

increases are for animal fees and building

permits, but the $2,000 in those revenue items

didn’t dent the $1.3 million in declines from

other sources.

The items cut were street repairs and

curb and gutter repairs. While Public Works

Supervisor Abram Pearce successfully

By Holly Dabb

hdabb@pinedaleroundup.com

negotiated to add more money to the fund so

staff could prioritize and fix some of the worst

streets, the mere $25,000 added won’t go far,

he predicted.

One item that remains incomplete is the

funds for services – not because the council

cut them, but the nonprofit agencies didn’t

apply. Last year, 14 agencies applied for

service contracts. To date, only the Children’s

Learning Center, MESA Therapeutic Riding

Program, Pinedale Preschool, SAFV Task

Force, the Discovery Center and LOBA have

applied. The council agreed to extend the

application deadline rather than cut the other

eight agencies out of the budget.

Once discretionary projects were removed

from the budget, the total budget was about

$88,000 higher than anticipated revenues

with that balanced from reserves set aside for

capital projects.

Outside the general budget, the council

budgeted $5.5 million in capital projects with

the bulk being the ball fields; $350,000 was

budgeted to pave Wilson Street. Of the money

for the ball fields, $2.7 million will be paid

to the town with equal contributions from

Sublette County and the Sublette County

Rural Health Care District buying the existing

Dudley Key Ball Fields for the proposed

critical access hospital.

Rudnick warned of amendments to the

budget in third reading as incoming bills

reduce reserves. The third reading is scheduled

for the June 8 meeting. The time is moved to

1 p.m. as the town faces interviewing and

selecting a new fixed base operator for the

airport as well as a final budget reading.

One item that increased is health

insurance. The council approved renewing the

employees’ health insurance plan at a projected 4.9-percent increase over last year. The council

also verbally agreed to change the town’s insurance so employees become eligible the first day

of the month after being hired. The provision removed a 90-day waiting period.

Council members were told Judge Ruth Neely is retiring June 30. Murdock said he had

already spoken with Sam Bixler, magistrate for Marbleton and LaBarge. He estimated the

position takes about 20 hours a month and he budgeted $900 per month.

To start the May 13 meeting, the council went into a closed executive session for litigation.

While no action was taken following the session, Murdock referred to a $140,000 line item

for legal expenses in the town’s water funds, saying the line item resulted from the executive

session discussion.

In other actions taken at the previous regular meeting:

• Two council members, Murdock and Boyce, met with Wyoming Department of

Transportation representatives May 19 to look at a potential grant for an underpass under

Wyoming Highway 191 to connect existing paths to new ball fields. They will also review the

South Tyler Avenue pathway project. The council will have to choose because the town can

only have one transportation grant at a time. The council agreed at the May 27 special meeting

to set aside funding for a feasibility study.

• Council referred planning and zoning rules to the Planning and Zoning Board for potential

revisions. Spencer Hartman, the town’s liaison for planning and zoning, said he is getting

requests for larger garages. But the town’s rules limit ancillary buildings to 30 percent of the

size of the main residence.

He said in the past, building permits were issued without regard to the restriction so residents

wonder why they can’t build what other neighbors have.

Council member Swafford agreed that many Planning and Zoning rules written in 1977 no

longer support current lifestyles such as “larger toys and more of them.”

Murdock asked Hartman to have the rules reviewed by planning and zoning and any others

that are outdated could be updated at one time.

Murdock said, “It’s a bad law and we need to fix it. We need rules that are enforceable and

not just look past the law.”

• The council went into a closed executive session to discuss personnel. No action was taken

following the session.