April 03, 2025 Meeting Summary

Presiding: Keith Rittle

Meeting Room setup/takedown and general problem solving: Tom Mangan and Ron Van Ekeren

Professor’s Quote: George Gill

Introduction of Guests: Sarah Brown Mathews

Guests: Keith Rittle introduced prospective member, Brad Mallberg; Michelle Johnson introduced prospective member, Patti DeRosa; Justin Christenson introduced Ann Nelson and Nancy Werner

Rotaract/Interact Students:

Humor: Terry Roark

Foundation Drawing: Paul Montoya won $10.

O’Dwyers Drawing: Eric Feuerstein

 

 

Rotarian of the Week: Caitlin White nominated Ray and Lisa McElwee for being our third host family; Anna Cramer nominated John Evans for his continued support of non-profits; Dave Hansen nominated Jan Lawrence and Terry Roark for helping with Read to Feed.

 

Songs: America

 

Program: Legislative Update, Gary Crum & Trey Sherwood

 

Introduction: Doug Faus

 

Both thanked Rotary and the community for our support during a long session. They are open to any questions. Crum noted that he ran as a concerned citizen, not as a politician. There was a lot of communication from the Wyoming community during session with 1,200-1,500 emails each day and hundreds of phone calls. Make sure to note you are from Laramie or Albany County when you contact them.

 

Crum had a focus on rural health care this session. His big success was repealing an older statue related to nursing homes to improve this system in Wyoming.

 

Management Council will be meet on April 8 to discuss interim topics. This process does involve public comment and expert testimony.

 

Property tax was the big topic. A bill did pass that institutes a 25% property tax exemption off the assessed value of the property. This is for residential and owner-occupied. There are a few other qualification provisions as well that you can review online. Other property tax exemption bills also passed, including a business exemption.

 

 

Crum noted that it will be interesting to see how this exemption impacts cities and counties and will allow constituents to see if there is an issue with the loss of funding. There will also be a 50% property tax exemption off the assessed value of the property as a ballot measure that all Wyoming citizens will vote on in two years.

 

The Legislative Services Office is looking at how to track the impact, and a bill is being proposed to compare and check the different property tax legislation. Albany County is conducting three town halls to help residents understand the changes:

 

Another bill of interest related to education savings account and vouchers for families/children not attending public school. This bill will provide $7,000 to ages 4 and up for education-related expenses. Crum voted for the bill. Sherwood voted against the bill, questioning the constitutionality of the legislation.

 

You can learn more about the legislation that was considered and passed in the 2025 session at wyoleg.gov.

 

Response: Todd Pearson

 

 

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•Is it the Truth?

•Is it Fair?

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Spoke Editor: Caitlin White, 307-630-1965, cwhite@acplwy.org