GILLETTE, Wyo. — The Campbell County chair for a group petitioning to reduce property taxes said that since she started handing out petitions Oct. 21, she has received more than 500 signatures so far of the 1,910 needed from the county.
Signers of the statewide petition to create a tax exemption for homeowners’ primary residence in the amount of half of the property’s assessed value, starting in 2025, must be registered voters who voted in the prior election, Holly Galloway said. Signers must provide their address, name and signature. They do not need to be property owners. The 1,910 signatures needed from Campbell County represent 15% of the total votes cast in Campbell County in 2022.
Residents will have two new opportunities to sign the petition, Galloway said today. They can meet petition leaders between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Nov. 4 in the parking lot of Tractor Supply Co., 4005 S. Douglas Highway, where there will be a white, enclosed trailer with signs, table and chairs. The petition leaders will also have a booth at the Nov. 10–12 Gillette Arms Show at CAM-PLEX, 1635 Reata Drive, Gillette. As another option, they can contact Galloway at 307-567-4567 to make arrangements.
Galloway said the group has more than 400 circulators across the state, and two counties have nearly met their signature quota.
Galloway said in October that her property taxes went up $400 this year and property taxes have risen in each of the last three years by 6%, 13.11% and 16%, respectively. She considers the petition nonpartisan, as property taxes have increased for homeowners regardless of their political affiliations, and states that homeowners can spend their own money more wisely than state legislators would and the state has enough savings.
“When you own a home, you shouldn’t have to have a landlord called the government,” she said.
Gillette Public Affairs Director Jennifer Toscana said the city has no comment on the petition. Campbell County School District Superintendent Alex Ayers said he, too, does not have a comment. County 17 is following up with school board chair Anne Ochs and Campbell County Board of Commissioners Chair Colleen Faber.
Faber said in late October that while she has not read the details of the petition, she supports property tax relief for Wyoming residents.
“The ‘homestead exemption’ approach has been widely supported across the state,” she said.
