Town of Jackson and Teton County Commission will review eighteen submitted 2022 SPET proposals, totaling over $275 Million in requested funds
This upcoming Monday at their Joint Information Meeting the Town of Jackson and Teton County Commission will do an initial review of this year’s prospective Specific Purpose Excise Tax (SPET) projects.
SPET is a voter-approved sales tax, the 6th cent on every dollar, paid by everyone on most goods and services. It is predicted that the measures approved and funded by voters in 2019 (including the Alliance sponsored Wildlife Crossings measure) will be paid off in 2024. In 2021, SPET collected just over $21 million.
Local government representatives decided to put SPET on this year’s ballot to avoid a lapse between projects, since sales tax revenues were higher than expected. After this year’s SPET measures are approved it’s likely there won’t be another opportunity for SPET funding until 2030. While voters will have the ultimate say of which measures are approved for funding in November, elected officials choose which measures make it on the ballot and in front of voters by July of this year.
A wide range of applicants submitted eighteen SPET proposals under consideration for the 2022 ballot, totaling over $275 Million in requested funding. Officials have said they will likely choose a list of SPET projects that total between $100-$120 million for the 2022 ballot (predicting SPET to average ~$20-25M/year for the next 4-5 years).
Now is the time to let your Town Councilors and County Commissioners know which measures you’d like to see in November. Check out the proposals submitted here.
There are many worthy projects in the running, all addressing important needs in our community. The Alliance would like to see projects that align with our mission to protect the wildlife, wild lands, and community character of Jackson Hole. We support the array of affordable housing projects proposed and agree that this pressing community need should receive significant funds. We also hope Town Councilors and County Commissioners commit to approving projects that fund other community priorities, like sustainable transportation, conservation, and water quality.
Join us in urging our elected representatives to support SPET projects like the Water Quality Master Plan, a conservation leasing program, an energy conservation fund, public transit and pathways, and affordable housing.
Find the information to join the meeting in person or virtually on Monday here.
