Town Councilors and County Commissioners finalize which SPET measures made it in front of voters in November
While exceeding what some electeds wanted the bottom line to be, the Jackson Town Council and Teton County Board of Commissioners decided on $166.4 million worth of Specific Purpose Excise Tax (SPET) measures to continue to be approved or denied by voters. 2019’s ballot contained far less at $77 million in projects.
In line with the community’s critical needs, many SPET measures focus on housing, including proposals by Teton County School District, St. John’s Health, and Teton County, as well as a general Community Housing Fund of $20 million.
The Alliance will run a campaign supporting the Teton Conservation Fund, intended to protect access to public lands and leverage public funds for community conservation opportunities. This would allow the county to respond to ideas not in the community’s best interests, such as recent decisions and expressed interest by the State Land Investment Board to allow development on public Trust Lands that is inconsistent with our community’s ecosystem stewardship values. Funds could also be used in tandem with private dollars to purchase private parcels that would help complete access routes to public lands.
Other notable conservation measures that will continue to the ballot are the Water Quality Master Plan Implementation Fund, Transportation Alternatives measure, and Walkable Community project. The Alliance will work with our nonprofit partners and community groups to move these important measures forward.
SPET 101: Some Basic Background
- Specific Purpose Excise Tax (SPET) measures allow our community to approve (or veto) important investments in our local community recommended by our elected representatives
- These investments are funded with the 6th penny of sales tax, which is paid in large part by visitors
- SPET measures are approved by a simple majority (>50%) of FOR votes
- You may vote FOR as many measures as you like, or all of them – they don’t “compete” against each other
- Early voting begins on September 23 and runs through election day, November 8, 2022
- Make sure you turn over your ballot and vote on the measures on both sides!
