Laramie leaders outline projects tied to $95 million special-purpose tax ahead of May vote

Laramie officials at a city council work session outlined a proposed $95 million special-purpose excise tax (SPT) that they say would generate about $9.1 million per year to fund a list of capital projects, including a new police facility, a relocated fire station, airport pavement and runway maintenance, street repairs and ADA sidewalk improvements. The city manager, Todd (City Manager), said the ballot is structured so the city would receive roughly 48% of proceeds, Albany County about 46%, the Laramie Regional Airport about 4% and Rock River roughly 2%.

Todd said the estimate of $9.1 million annually reflects current sales-tax receipts in Albany County and that stronger sales tied to energy development have accelerated collections compared with the city’s 2018 projection. "It's $16 a month toward the $95,000,000 investment," Todd said, presenting the per-resident breakdown, which he derived from county population estimates.

Why it matters: supporters said the SPT acts as seed and match money to unlock larger state and federal grants and to allow bonding so projects can proceed sooner rather than waiting years to accumulate cash. Todd noted prior SPT rounds helped match about $4 million in WARG grants, $500,000 in TAP grants and another $400,000 in land-and-water conservation funds.

Police and fire projects: Police Chief Brown described the…