Park County sends certified legal questions on contested water-rights assessments to district court
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Summary
Facing unclear statute and limited case law, commissioners voted to forward three certified legal questions to the district court asking whether they must convene as a board of equalization for irrigation-district assessment complaints, whether the board can adjust assessment rolls and to what extent, and when the board may convene as the board of equalization.
Park County commissioners voted on Feb. 3 to forward a certification of questions of law to the district court after months of examining four petitions about water-rights assessments. County attorneys told the board that relevant statutes (dating to 1937) appear contradictory and that there is little controlling case law, leaving substantial uncertainty about the board’s authority as a board of equalization.
County counsel (Scott, county attorney) and his deputy briefed commissioners and recommended the limited certified-question route. The three questions submitted ask whether the board is required to convene as a board of equalization when a member of an irrigation district complains about the assessment roll under Wyoming Statute 41-7-505; whether, if so, the board has the power to adjust assessment rolls and to what extent; and when the board may convene as the board of equalization in such circumstances.
A commissioner explained the goal: get judicial clarification before making administrative determinations that could prompt appeals. "We don't wanna do the wrong thing here, and I'm not sure," one commissioner said. The board moved and approved forwarding the certification to the district court; the clerk assigned resolution number 2026-07.
Next steps: the district court will decide whether to accept the certified questions and may request briefs from the parties; the court’s decision will guide the county’s administrative approach to the pending petitions.