Sorted by date Results 401 - 425 of 1180
"You're going to see, 2010 through 2018, that whole time we're below the bar. That ends up being $3.7 million in total losses through that period of time. So, again, the town's in a pickle." Five weeks after his last appearance before the Saratoga Town Council, James Childress of Childress Accounting and Consulting appeared before the governing body on June 23 to provide sobering news. Not only did the general fund see a deficit of $3.7 million over eight years, but Childress and his team went...
The Carbon County Visitor Council met at 10 a.m. on Wednesday at the Hanna Town Hall for their monthly meeting. It was the first time the board has met in person since February. The monthly meetings for March, April, and May had been done by teleconferencing. Encampment representative John Farr put forth an amendment to the agenda asking to discuss improving the sign at the Riverside Information Center. The amendment was approved. In attendance was John Farr, Danny Burau from Saratoga, Marilyn...
While a nearly two and half hour discussion over a report from James Childress and two executive sessions took up the majority of the Saratoga Town Council meeting on June 23, the governing body also passed two budgetary items on third reading. Ordinance No. 856, an ordinance amending the 2019/2020 Budget, and Ordinance No. 857, an ordinance setting the 2020/2021 Budget, were both passed by a 3-1 vote with Councilmember Jon Nelson voting nay both times. Over the past month, both documents have...
For the second time this month, the Saratoga Town Council held a special meeting on June 17 as business previously thought addressed in the first special meeting required further attention. As was reported previously (see “Special meeting to special meeting” on page 7 of the June 17 Saratoga Sun), the council had approved an amended representation letter for James Childress of Childress Accounting and Consulting on a 3-1 vote. On June 15, an email sent to council members and the media ann...
Dear Editor, I would like to remind the elected officials of our town that it is their duty and responsibility to answer to the constituency. Questions from other council members are not an inconvenience to be overcome; they are means to discovering and understanding the truth. The public is not an inconvenience to be overcome; they are the citizens of this town to whom you answer. The financial activity of the town is not a mere inconvenience to deal with; it is a priority for you to manage. You chose to sit behind that bench. You chose the...
“I still think that we have way overprojected our revenue for the next year and I have some real concerns.” This statement from Saratoga resident Kristen Teubner during the June 11 special meeting of the Saratoga Town Council seemed to encompass the concerns expressed by other residents as the governing body held the second reading of the proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2020/2021. As the State of Wyoming anticipates a $1.5 billion deficit over the next two years, the Saratoga Town Council has...
The Riverside Town Council met at 6 p.m. on Thursday at the Riverside Town Hall. Mayor Leroy Stephenson and all council members were in attendance. The first order of business was a public hearing on issuing liquor license renewals for Encampment Hospitality and Mangy Moose. "I have a letter from the Mangy Moose," Stephenson started. "To whom it may concern, in light of COVID-19, the Moose LLC has no plans to open this year for business and understands that if there is a plan to open in the...
The Airport Board meeting of June 10, 2020 began with discussion of an aircraft rescue and fire fighting (ARFF) truck that Riverton, Wyoming is getting rid of. Jon Nelson, council representative, said that it is not a right fit for the Town of Saratoga. However, as discussion progressed, other board members seemed to sway in favor of the ARFF. Riverton is giving up the vehicle, which only has approximately 380 hours of use on it, because they do not want to keep dumping money into it. The Federa...
There were two public hearings during the June 10, 2020 Saratoga Planning Commission meeting. both of which progressed quickly. The issue of Saratoga’s lack of off-street parking was briefly discussed in regards to an application submitted by Jon Nelson for a bed and breakfast. Since the entire downtown is considered non-conforming as most structures were built prior to current zoning codes, the motion was passed to recommend approval to the Town Council. The second public hearing was for the p...
During the June 11 special meeting of the Saratoga Town Council, the governing body voted 3-1 to pass Ordinance No. 856, a budget amendment for Fiscal Year 2019/2020, on second reading with Councilmember Jon Nelson casting the lone dissenting vote. The nay vote from Nelson comes following repeated attempts to include the transfer of excess revenues over expenditures in the enterprise funds in the amendment. As was reported previously (see “No second for that motion” on page 9 of the June 10 Sar...
While the second reading of the budget and budget amendment took up most of the two hour June 11 special meeting of the Saratoga Town Council, the council also discussed a letter of representation to James Childress. Legal counsel Tom Thompson informed the governing body that he had talked with Childress at the beginning of June and, at that time, he had requested that the town council sign the representation letter before issuing his report. “James then, thereafter, sent the letter that’s in...
The Hanna Town Council met at 6 p.m. on June 9 at the Hanna Town Hall. In attendance Mayor Lois Buchanan, Councilmember Sammy Sikes and, by phone ,Councilmember Linda Schisel. The agenda was approved first. The minutes from the regularly scheduled meeting on May 12 and special meeting on June 1 were approved next. Marcia Beals, representative for Hanna to the High Country Joint Powers Board (HCJPB), said the last meeting went over the proposed budget (see “Landfill has new worker” on page 3 in...
At their regular meeting on June 10, the Saratoga-Carbon County Impact Joint Powers Board (SCCIJPB) read a letter from the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC) expressing their concern over funds managed by the Town of Saratoga. The joint powers board also hired a law firm from Laramie to review the agreement between Carbon County and the Town of Saratoga forming the SCCIJPB. Letter from BOCCC “The Carbon County Commissioners were informed that the Town of Saratoga may have used Saratoga...
Ensuing the passing of Councilmember Steve Wilcoxson on May 29, the following meeting of the Saratoga Town Council on June 2 was kept short with a modified agenda. In total, the time from beginning to end was just around 20 minutes. During that meeting, Mayor John Zeiger officially declared a vacancy on the council. “It is with regret that I’m going to have to declare a vacancy on our council after the passing of Councilman Wilcoxson,” said Zeiger. “So anyone that would be interested in filling...
The first meeting of the Saratoga Town Council since the passing of Councilmember Steve Wilcoxson on May 29 saw the governing body with barely a quorum as Mayor John Zeiger, Councilmember Judy Welton and Councilmember Jon Nelson were in attendance. Councilmember Bob Keel, in writing, cited a conflicting work schedule for being unable to attend. With the end of the current fiscal year coming to a close in less than a month, the Saratoga Town Council is struggling to get a budget for Fiscal Year...
Following the failure to pass two ordinances relating to the current and upcoming fiscal years on second reading at the June 2 Saratoga Town Council meeting, the governing body will be holding a special meeting this week. The council will also discuss an engagement letter for James Childress. Over the past few several weeks, the Saratoga Town Council has been debating both the revenue and expenditures for Fiscal Year 2020/2021. Councilmember Jon Nelson has been expressing hesitancy at following...
For the second time since February, Councilmember Jon Nelson objected to payments for third-party accountant James Childress as they exceeded the monthly amount approved by the Saratoga Town Council. At the June 2 meeting of the governing body, Nelson objected to paying the entire amount invoiced by Childress, which totalled $8,482. As was reported previously (see “No body, no crime” on page 16 of the February 26 Saratoga Sun), the Saratoga Town Council provided Childress with a list of add...
A weekend that was supposed to be one of triumph for high school graduates started off with tragedy as one Saratoga resident drowned on the North Platte River on May 29. According to a press release from the Carbon County Sheriff’s Office, a report was received at approximately 2:45 p.m. on Friday of a boat with three occupants capsizing on the North Platte River. The exact location was unknown, but was believed to be between Treasure Island and Kelley Cattle Company. A command post was e... Full story
If the amount of candidates who have filed is any indication, the 2020 Primary Election will be one to watch on the national, state and local level. Following the deadline of May 29, a total of 16 candidates will vie for the seat held by Senator Mike Enzi while House District 47 incumbent Jerry Paxton will face three challengers on the Republican ticket. Even the county and municipal elections will see some serious competition with multiple candidates for the Board of Carbon County...
“Service is the measure of greatness; it always has been true; it is true today, and it always will be true, that he is greatest who does the most good.” ~ William Jennings Bryan Being the son of veterans, I have great respect for those who feel the need to serve our country by joining the armed forces. I also have respect for those who come back from serving in the military to serve their country as their representative in government whether it be local, state or national. Steve Wilcoxson was o... Full story
The Carbon County Visitors Council (CCVC) met at 10 a.m. on May 20 by telephone and video conference. In addition to the representatives from each municipality for CCVC, grant applicants attended to explain their upcoming events. Those events were The Adventures of Joe Pickett by the Saratoga Museum; 14th annual Music in the Park by Encampment; Riverside Party Day from Riverside, Carbon County Fair; 2020 Bullfest by Saratoga Lions Club; ArtBeat by Rawlins DDA/Main Street; Latino Heritage...
Enterprise funds managed by the Town of Saratoga are restricted but those funds should have also been charged an overhead interfund allocation. That appears to be the argument presented by James Childress, the accountant engaged by the Saratoga Town Council, during the May 19 meeting of the governing body. Over the past several weeks, Councilmember Jon Nelson has been determined in his argument that approximately $1.2 million of enterprise funds were essentially “stolen” to prevent a general fun...
Election filing for town, county and state offices has been open since May 14 and will close May 29. Up for grabs are multiple town council seats, unexpired mayoral terms and county commissioners seats. Additionally, House District 47 incumbent Jerry Paxton will face yet another primary challenger this year. Encampment Town Council In Encampment, two council seats are up for election which are currently held by Bill Craig and Kim Loftice. As of press time, Bill Craig is the only candidate to hav...
During their May 19 meeting, the Saratoga Town Council was faced with the issue of how to gain the attention of Family Dollar corporate headquarters in regards to violation of town ordinance in Saratoga. In a letter from resident Kristen Teubner, concern was raised about the accumulation of trash and cardboard around the Family Dollar store in Saratoga. In her letter, Teubner informed the governing body that she had spent an hour and a half cleaning up trash behind the store building and...
For more than two months, regular users of the Saratoga Hot Pool, or Hobo Pool, haven’t been able to soak in the geothermal mineral waters of the longtime fixture. Following recommendations from Carbon County Public Health Officer Wayne Couch, the hot pool was closed to the public and the not-so-hot pool was drained. As restrictions have been eased at both the county and state levels, questions have been asked on social media as to if the hot pool was open. Additionally, organizations such as t...