By Hannah Ward and Dylan Farrell
Casper Star Tribune, Wyo.
(TNS)
Wyoming voters rejected a proposed 50% cut to residential property taxes, turning back an initiative that drew months of debate and a $2.1 million campaign opposing the measure.
Proposition 1 would have exempted half the assessed value of owner-occupied homes from property taxes, with no cap on home value. Unofficial results showed 105,200 votes against the proposal and 80,031 in favor, according to the Secretary of State’s Office.
In Natrona County, nearly 57% of voters rejected further property tax cuts.
“The voters have spoken and tonight was a big win for the hard-working families of Wyoming. We hope and trust that state lawmakers will listen to the will of the voters, who said loudly that critical services like our public schools, first responders, road repairs, and libraries should receive the funding they need and that Wyoming families deserve,” Vote NO on Prop 1 Coalition Chairwoman Kim Amen said in a statement Tuesday night.
Vote No on Prop 1, a political action committee, reported more than $1.4 million in contributions from the Washington, D.C.-based National Education Association.
The Wyoming Civic Engagement Network, Wyoming Association of Community College Trustees, Wyoming Heritage Foundation, Wyoming Realtors Association, Better Wyoming and the Wyoming Donor Alliance contributed the remainder, alongside a small number of individual donations.
For months ahead of the election, representatives from counties, cities, towns, community colleges, fire districts and other special districts explained to voters that further property tax cuts would challenge local government budgets, and, therefore, the basic services they offer.
The state legislature passed several property tax relief measures in the last several years—a 50% reduction for long-term homeowners, a 25% reduction for single-family homeowners, a veterans exemption, and a 4% cap on valuation increases currently being litigated.
Those existing tax relief options resulted in a noticeable drop for municipal revenue, but fire districts, which are funded nearly entirely by property taxes, have felt the effects more most other entities.
Fire officials across Natrona County voiced concerns over what would happen to their departments if Proposition 1 passed, especially Natrona County Fire Protection District Chief Howard Oden. Many—Oden aside—stopped short of outwardly campaigning against the measure, though.
Casper Fire-EMS Department Interim Chief Devin Garvin trod that line on Monday morning, when he gathered with other Casper-area fire officials to emphasize how heavily Casper, Evansville, Mills and the county rely on one another’s support in emergency response.
Garvin refrained from outright saying Casperites would face negative outcomes but emphasized a handful of topics with the implication that they could or would be affected: Mutual aid with other departments, like Mills or Evansville responding to Casper when overlapping calls require more manpower than CFD can offer; Insurance Services Office rating, which some providers use to calculate interest rates; and, as Oden said in interviews before Monday’s meeting, the potential closure NCFD Station 13, which is just east of Evansville.
“I know for Evansville in particular, with [county station] 13 closing down … we would pick up a lot of that,” Evansville Fire Chief Mark Cornett said.
In Natrona County, local renewals of the One Cent general purpose sales tax and lodging tax passed easily, with 68% of voters approving the One Cent tax for another four years and more than 80% of voters approving the lodging tax.
The One Cent tax adds an additional, countywide penny to the state’s 4% sales tax for use by Natrona County and all municipalities within its boundaries. In Casper alone, the additional tax revenue supports nearly all street repairs as well as public safety and other infrastructure.
The 2% lodging tax is imposed only on local hotels, Airbnbs and other short-term rentals in Natrona County. That revenue comprises Visit Casper’s budget and is used for tourism advertising and attracting new events to the Casper area.
Photo credit: Freepik
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© 2026 Casper Star Tribune, Wyo. Visit www.trib.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency LLC.
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