[{"_1":2,"_86":-5,"_87":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,74],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":56,"_73":56},"mediaId",6262971,"mediaKeyId","3110111-6b8fafe87afd876388190f937a9b67aa","parentId",3110111,"title","Casper city manager outlines $1.8 million revenue shortfall from state property-tax changes; staff propose cuts, utility billing changes and program adjustments","audioSeconds",4814,"startMs",2939484,"endMs",7754315,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3110111-6b8fafe87afd876388190f937a9b67aa&start=2939&end=7754","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3110111-6b8fafe87afd876388190f937a9b67aa/thumbnail_2939484.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6262971/Casper/Natrona/Wyoming/Casper-city-manager-outlines-18-million-revenue-shortfall-from-state-property-tax-changes-staff-propose-cuts-utility-billing-changes-and-program-adjustments","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6262971-440a375b76f2fedd38f6bace276c0e98/orig.mp4?Expires=1771149551&Signature=Kmq1hqKnoQkc30LJRg8SF7IlYryX8caUtXDrynqSRyQ6tIYapyKJz8EwFoYE6XxZUDmLvaXFV-43PpSY9d-Ow6BxnFnE~54yvEYqeh9pazNpdGqci~HE5Ua-5o7vNnn5Luht5obGdkEO8iPrkmZIIKpzztnqIPLhPokS9YWmb8pNJh11mQqCLn81Ti8HgMBYkc2z4RefMYv5Wz3zeRj0oVgPVxX5Cs55qnYUaDwbypZGfDvD75C1cmNDAVKF~npXmj80lSlBHdmtmUejmVqbaIQn12UyKoKojDLTMxwcKogH2c6AD1CbNNX0CS7wZrnd1TbbNsNkYyFMW15mhrMH-A__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","","date","2025-04-24T13:01:56.883Z","article","Casper city officials told the City Council they must close an estimated budget gap created by recent state-level property tax changes and other valuation shifts, and they outlined a mix of operational savings, utility/enterprise billing adjustments and program changes to reconcile the general fund.

Why it matters: Council and staff said the changes enacted at the state legislature will lower municipal property-tax receipts and reduce the city’s operational revenue by about $1.8 million, forcing near-term cost containment while staff develops longer-term sustainability approaches if further state reductions occur.

City Manager Carter said about 72–75% of general-fund revenue is determined outside council control and described an operational shortfall the city needs to fill. “We’re trying to reconcile with regard to operational revenue that is no longer available to us,” Carter said.

Jill, the city finance staff member who prepared the calculations for the council, said the revenue impacts came from three main legislative changes and valuation shifts. She told the council the long-term-homeowner exemption will reduce property-tax receipts by about $341,000; a 25% reduction available through another legislative change will reduce receipts by about $1.2 million; and valuation-cap related adjustments account for about $64,000. Jill also said a decline in mineral valuations reduced revenue by about $245,000. Staff characterized those figures as based on assessor data and subject to final valuation adjustments.

Carter and department heads proposed a set of containment measures and revenue adjustments intended to avoid layoffs and preserve core public-safety and essential services. Proposed steps included:

- Not filling some vacant positions and delaying noncritical hires; Carter said the administration was not recommending layoffs or cuts to employee benefits.
- Reducing irrigation and fertilizing in parks and special areas, trimming some snow-removal coverage for trails and park sidewalks, and naturalizing selected park land to reduce operating costs.
- Charging utilities for services currently provided by general-fund crews (for example, street trench repairs and engineering services), which staff estimated could yield roughly $150,000 and $179,000 respectively to the general fund if billed for those services.
- Adopting a wholesale outdoor-water rate for parks (estimated benefit about $44,000) and pursuing digital-billing incentives that could shrink paper-billing costs (staff estimated $120,000–$150,000 potential savings if widely adopted).

Carter said gambling and interest income increases help offset some losses, but are not sufficient alone; he described a remaining reconciliation gap of roughly $240,000 after the measures already identified. “With these kinds of activities… we believe we will make up a lot of the difference,” Carter said, while noting further work remains.

Council members and department staff discussed longer-term, structural options: changing how direct-distribution funds are used, directing franchise fees toward partner agencies, and reevaluating subsidies for recreation, transit and other programs that rely on direct distribution. Several council members urged outreach to the city’s state legislative delegation for backfill funding and warned the council against relying on savings or reserves to cover ongoing operational shortfalls.

What the city will do next: Staff said they will present a balanced budget to council in May that incorporates the measures described and will continue work to close the remaining roughly $240,000 gap. Carter asked department heads to keep the focus on preserving core services and recommended further work on longer-term structural changes if state revenue reductions continue.

Ending: Council members acknowledged the difficult choices ahead, said they wanted staff to return with a finalized budget that preserves public-safety services, and urged continued communication with legislators and the public about the local impacts of state tax changes.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","City of Casper | April 22nd, 2025 | City Council Work Session","oneSentenceSummary","City Manager Carter told the Casper City Council that recent state property-tax changes and valuation shifts have reduced general-fund revenue by roughly $1.8 million and outlined proposed cuts and revenue adjustments to close the gap while preserving core public-safety services.","taxTitle","Casper, Natrona, Wyoming","taxId",3791,"location","headline","shortSummary",{"_33":75,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":76,"_41":77,"_43":78,"_45":79,"_47":80,"_49":81,"_51":82,"_53":83,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":84,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":85,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":56,"_73":56},6262974,"Radiant pitches Casper site for factory of 1-megawatt microreactors; company, local leaders discuss jobs, safety and infrastructure support",2152,37489,2190444,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3110111-6b8fafe87afd876388190f937a9b67aa&start=37&end=2190","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3110111-6b8fafe87afd876388190f937a9b67aa/thumbnail_37489.jpg","/articles/6262974/Casper/Natrona/Wyoming/Radiant-pitches-Casper-site-for-factory-of-1-megawatt-microreactors-company-local-leaders-discuss-jobs-safety-and-infrastructure-support","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6262974-e1fe99323ad3263b5b3348f44ec4a1c8/orig.mp4?Expires=1771149551&Signature=PjxCAY2Je1JAdgFtHEC~T0n2ut~o3NOl24xzqWgSw4GFSAAe1iWp5gfwUnLWJSHON3scaPnw9~z1OecBu9U7gBzreGF5bzJPu9luGhXDOBo5IaOOkAnSyOPjH1AkteLWO6krDKjJLV1dkN~0JjdP-dZl6Qc9f3X4WwSsAL-f4j2qHlzq2uFPvTkxJxzrAGdUOX~44pO~~vyc~pOICoDMNO-TsG-wv2GIPATYph8BXahG1lri8CXFPnDy0gtVqstt-wfbqxwJVOFjFDDF1FmmNIhVNo0gPgQyxMLgCbn7UYlmsFzZCM5ahLcwzxu3rYwjqQwB8kOnQ89PD4Q1zX5YSA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Radiant (Radiant Nuclear) representatives told Casper City Council members and local economic-development officials that the company is evaluating a site north of Casper to build a factory that would assemble 1-megawatt microreactors and handle routine refueling and storage.

The company said the factory would be an advanced-manufacturing campus of roughly 350,000 square feet on more than 100 acres, initially create about 75 jobs and grow to about 250 at scale, and aim to produce about 50 reactor units per year in the mid-2030s. Radiant described each unit as roughly the size of a shipping container, about 12 by 12 by 40 feet, weighing “70 plus tons,” intended to run for about five years between refuelings.

Why it matters: Radiant’s plan drew attention from city and county economic-development staff because it promises local jobs and a manufacturing campus, but it also raises questions about permitting, long-term fuel storage, local infrastructure needs and how public funding might be used to extend utilities and roads to a remote site.

Radiant senior operations manager Kai Cartman said Wyoming made the company’s shortlist because of the state’s role in uranium mining, its energy-industry workforce and available land near Casper. “If most of the uranium in the country is coming from Wyoming, but all that uranium is being sent out of the state, it would be really exciting if we could have that whole life cycle within Wyoming,” Cartman said.

Company officials said the reactors would use tristructural-isotropic (TRISO) fuel particles — a ceramic-encapsulated fuel form the company says has high temperature tolerances — and helium coolant. Cartman described passive cooling features and said the smaller power level of the units reduces some risks compared with large commercial reactors: “One of the aspects of our size is that we’re able to passively cool a reactor,” Cartman said. He added the company would return units to the factory every five years for refueling and store spent fuel in dry casks on-site in a separate building and on a concrete pad similar to other U.S. nuclear facilities.

Regulatory and community steps: Radiant said it will test its prototype at Idaho National Laboratory and pursue Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) licensing. Company staff told the council they are preparing materials for the Economic Development Joint Powers Board and the Wyoming Business Council and asked local governments for letters of support and help with infrastructure planning for a property north of Westwinds Road, in the county near Bar Nunn.

City and county officials emphasized the difference between infrastructure support and direct company subsidy. A local official clarifed that the application the Economic Development Joint Powers Board is preparing would seek infrastructure funding to extend roads, water, sewer and electric — not a direct cash grant to Radiant. That application process and any state-level awards require multiple milestones and community cash matches, city staff said; the county’s initial engineering estimate for the Bar Nunn-Westwinds buildout was described as roughly $6–$8 million for the immediate infrastructure segments, with a larger, up-to-$25 million figure discussed at the state level as an upper range floated by the Business Council.

Concerns and clarifications: Council members asked Radiant to explain worst-case scenarios, fuel handling and why Wyoming. Cartman said the company modeled “worst-case” events with the NRC and that, in modeling he described to the council, the largest offsite impact radius would be small and contained within the company property because of the facility design and cask storage. He said dry-cask storage is a tested practice and that refueling/defueling and fuel storage areas would be constructed to NRC standards.

Cartman also addressed questions about supply chains and partnerships: Radiant is testing components now, plans prototype testing at Idaho National Laboratory, and expects first deliveries in 2028 if tests and licensing proceed. The company said it will not unilaterally source fuel fabrication yet; it is continuing to evaluate partners for fuel fabrication and expects to work with existing fuel and enrichment suppliers in the industry.

Local economic-development response: City and county economic-development representatives said they are compiling infrastructure cost estimates and milestones to support state-level applications and encouraged Radiant to continue public town halls. The company said it will hold additional town halls over the summer and in the coming weeks and is already working with Casper College on potential workforce pipelines that could include radiation-safety and nuclear-related technician training.

What comes next: Radiant will continue prototype testing and NRC engagement and is pursuing local and state infrastructure planning. Local officials will continue to assemble grant materials and consider letters of support and milestone-based infrastructure funding requests; no local vote or final subsidy was recorded at the meeting.

Ending: Radiant’s representatives left the council with requests for municipal and county cooperation on infrastructure and workforce development while the company pursues prototype testing and federal licensing. Council members encouraged continued public outreach and said they expect to review any formal infrastructure requests and provide local feedback as the company’s project and licensing process advance.","Radiant (Radiant Nuclear) presented plans to site a factory north of Casper that would mass-produce 1-megawatt microreactors, describe safety features and fuel-handling, and asked local partners to pursue infrastructure funding and community outreach while the company progresses prototype testing and NRC licensing.","actionData","errors"]

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Casper city manager outlines $1.8 million revenue shortfall from state property-tax changes; staff propose cuts, utility billing changes and program adjustments

Radiant pitches Casper site for factory of 1-megawatt microreactors; company, local leaders discuss jobs, safety and infrastructure support