Reviving Wyoming’s statewide consensus financing program could help address billions of dollars in immediate infrastructure needs for cities and counties, such as water and wastewater.
The Wyoming Legislature last appropriated funding for the program in 2014, and funding averaged about $35 million per year. But they fluctuated widely, ranging from $18 million to $191 million per biennium, based at least in part on the state of the state’s economy, said Don Richards, budget and finance administrator for the Legislative Service Office.
In the Wyoming House of Representatives’ version of the 2026 budget bill, lawmakers allocated approximately $54.9 million from the Wyoming Business Council’s Business Resilient Community grant and loan program – formerly Business Ready Community – to the statewide consensus grant program. Ultimately, efforts to revive the funding program did not make it into the final budget.
The Legislature first passed the statewide Consensus Funding Block Grant during the 2007 General Session. Local governments in each of Wyoming’s 23 counties would decide how to spend statewide consensus grants, which would require support from the county commission and at least half of the incorporated municipalities within the county.
“We have to understand that that’s not even a third… In the best case scenario, we’re closer to $6 billion.” [in immediate projects].”
Rep. Jeremy Haroldson
The Legislature’s Joint Budget Committee considered a bill to revive the program and enshrine it in state law during the committee’s June meeting in Lander. The bill, prepared by the Joint Minerals, Business and Economic Development Committee, included $100 million for the first two years of the program and $50 million thereafter. However, that may not be enough.
Of the 99 members of the Wyoming Association of Municipalities, 31 responded to a survey about water infrastructure needs ahead of the committee meeting. Executive Director Ashley Harpstreith said the 31 respondents indicated that existing infrastructure was worth about $26.5 billion and that there was an immediate project need of about $1.7 billion.
“We have to understand that’s not even a third… In the best case scenario, we’re closer to $6 billion (in immediate projects),” said Rep. Jeremy Haroldson, R-Wheatland.
Jerimiah Rieman, executive director of the Wyoming County Commissioners Association, recommended allocating $75 million annually for the consensus block grant program due to infrastructure needs across the state and continued cost increases. He also recommended that increases above the original appropriation be tied to the consumer price index, an estimate of the change in the cost of household goods.
“A decade from now you will have less purchasing power,” Rieman said.
Beth Blackwell, grants and loans specialist in Newcastle, said reviving the statewide consensus program would help fund critical infrastructure projects across Wyoming.
“A national consensus is something that has been missing in the funding community for the last decade,” Blackwell said.
As drafted, the bill requires unencumbered funds to be returned to the state after two years. Rep. Bill Allemand, R-Midwest, proposed extending the provision to four years.
Christi Haswell, chairwoman of the Sheridan County Commission, said additional time would be beneficial for projects that are delayed for a variety of reasons. She cited the delays in Sheridan Area Water Supply’s Gulch Road project as an example.
“This is a small project, and I think for some of these larger projects, being able to retain that funding would be critical,” Haswell said.
Sheridan Area Water Supply received $300,000 in mineral royalty funding from the state to help fund an 8-inch water main to serve Gulch Road residents whose sinks have emitted sulfur odors for many years. Poor water quality has also resulted in damage to furnishings and clothing, forcing residents to use multiple filters in their homes.
Just as SAWS began preparing to apply for a $300,000 U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development Grant, the federal government shut down. Haswell said the closure ultimately resulted in SAWS losing “a construction season” on the project.
Committee Vice Chairman John Bear, R-Gillette, encouraged committee members to prepare possible amendments to the bill before the committee’s next meeting, currently scheduled for Aug. 27 and 28 in Cheyenne.
https://wyofile.com/lawmakers-mull-reviving-state-program-to-funnel-money-to-towns-counties-for-basic-needs/
