Lawmakers to continue review after hours of testimony on taxpayer-funded local government associations

LANDER, Wyo. — Lawmakers on the Corporations, Elections & Political Subdivisions interim committee spent the morning of May 9, 2025, hearing testimony on whether local governments should use taxpayer dollars to pay dues and expenses for municipal and county associations and decided to continue the review at a future meeting.

The committee heard presentations from the Wyoming County Commissioners Association (WCCA), the Wyoming Association of Municipalities (WAM) and the Wyoming Association of County Officers (WACO), plus public comment both for and against the practice.

Natalia Macker, president of the Wyoming County Commissioners Association and a Teton County commissioner, told the committee that the WCCA “exists to strengthen Wyoming Wyoming's counties through a program of networking, education, and unified action,” and described the group as a resource that gathers local data for county budgeting, the consensus revenue process and legislative analysis. Macker cited Wyoming statute “18 dash 3 dash 5 2 2” while describing the association’s role in helping counties respond to federal land-management decisions,…