CASPER, Wyo. — Newly announced Natrona County Commission candidate Matt Keating has laid out his intent regarding property tax if he were elected to the Natrona County Commission.
In a Wednesday news release, Keating began by describing how many Natrona County residents are living solely on their Social Security funds, and some on $900 a month or less. He said in the release that this financial situation could leave them unable to pay their property tax bill, leaving them vulnerable to losing their home.
He said in the release that he had proposed a bill in the previous legislative session, during his tenure as Natrona County assessor, that would combine two already existing programs. When combined, according to Keating, this program would act as a safety net for those unable to pay their property tax bill. They would not be taxed and their property would not be taken.
“My idea was a simple one. The property tax refund program has a means test and how we tax personal property has a floor below which no tax is owed,” Keating said in the release. “My bill simply asked when a person hits a certain means level their property tax bill becomes de minimis as it does when a personal property account reaches a value of $2,400 or less.”
And although this bill failed, Keating hopes he can achieve something similar in a Natrona County Commission seat.
“The Wyoming Legislature has been helping by funding the property tax refund program. About five years ago, the Wyoming Legislature gave the county commissioners the authority to do the same. Our commissioners are aware that they have thus authority. I can say this with confidence because I have personally reminded them every year,” Keating said in the release.
Keating also stated that, despite the nature of home values going up, tax bills do not have to increase alongside them because tax rates can be adjusted downward. He cited when the head of the Department of Revenue testified to that in front of the Joint Revenue Committee.
“I testified next to tell them that, yes, when taxable values go up, tax rates can be adjusted down. But this is not happening in Natrona County,” Keating said in the release. “I told the Natrona County Commission that if they lowered their tax rate from 12 to 8.8, they would receive the same revenue that they had received the previous year. However, the tax rate remained at 12 and they took in an additional $4.6 million.”
He also cited an action by the commission last year to pay Southwest Airlines $880,000 to maintain service in Casper for an additional six months, and that, had the commission imitated the state’s property tax refund program, it would have cost only $821,000.
Keating concluded his release by stating that its time for the Natrona County Commission to put the taxpayer first.
