Jackson Hole Town Councilors approved a new “Memorandum of Understanding” with the county earlier this week. The decision comes after the county unanimously approved the agreement the week prior.
The MOU details a new split that transfers the majority of expenses for joint services like START, Fire and /EMS and Parks and Recreation to the county.
Some town councilors — like Jonathan Schechter — feel that the county should pay more but voted in support anyway.
“Is this the best deal possible? Probably not. But is it progress in a direction we should be moving? Yes,” Schechter said.
Just a week prior in a joint meeting with the county, the town failed to pass the same motion causing frustration among some county commissioners to boil over.
The caveat? A SPET ballot initiative must pass in November. SPET — is an additional penny of sales tax collected in the county that — if approved by voters — would fund a new Teton County Justice Center. The building would house a new courthouse, county jail and a dispatch center which many elected say is overdue.
The town is expected to go off an about $4 million dollar budget cliff in the coming years — meaning services will have to be reduced or cut altogether if changes like the split — aren’t made. But Town Councilor Jim Rooks says the town the split alone will not solve the town’s budget woes.
“What I know to be true coming out of this is that the town has serious funding challenges moving forward,” he said.
The SPET initiative is planned to be on the ballot for November 5 primary election.
