Council amends 2022 budget without solution for Animal Shelter issues

May 20—CHEYENNE — With the Cheyenne City Council set to approve its $53.7 million fiscal year 2022 budget next month, elected leaders made a number of amendments to the document at a meeting Wednesday night — funding nuisance abatement, Depot Plaza maintenance and another city attorney.

However, no funding was added to the Cheyenne Animal Shelter's contract, which is an issue that needs to be addressed before the final budget is approved.

Animal Shelter Board Vice President Richard Mincer said in a letter to the council that the shelter board voted Tuesday night to cancel the contract if the city doesn't allocate $850,000 for fiscal year 2022.

Currently, $675,000 is budgeted for the shelter and the animal control services it provides through a contract with the city.

"We will start moving in another direction, and we'll work with the city to achieve as smooth a transition as possible, should the city decide to either stand up its own animal control operation and sheltering facility, or try to find another contractor," Mincer said in the letter, which was read out loud by Mayor Patrick Collins during Wednesday's meeting.

The shelter will be asking for more money in years to come, as well, since its expenses are significantly more than the contract amount, and other shelters of similar sizes have double the funding, Mincer said.

Though the council did not take action on the issue Wednesday, Collins said they will work to address it before the budget is approved next month. The city will host another Committee of the Whole budget meeting at 6 p.m. June 9.

"We still have a month for the budget; we have plenty of time to work through the issue," Collins said.

Honor Guard request denied

Terry Harbick, with American Legion Post 6, also petitioned the council Wednesday for $6,000 for the Honor Guard, which is composed of veterans who conduct military funerals. The Honor Guard recently saw a cut in funding from the state, and asked for the money to help cover costs, mainly for uniforms. It has also seen an increase in veteran burials with the recent opening of the new Cheyenne National Cemetery.

"We will present colors, march in parades," Harbick said. "This is all done by our members at no expense, but it does cost."

Councilman Ken Esquibel proposed an amendment to fund that $6,000 request — which is half of the Honor Guard's annual budget — from gaming revenues. Treasurer Robin Lockman said those revenues weren't expected, and weren't included in the initial budget proposal.

"There certainly are a lot of trickle-down effects from what the state did," Esquibel said.

However, the amendment was voted down, with Esquibel and Councilmen Scott Roybal and Pete Laybourn voting yes. Councilman Bryan Cook left the meeting early and did not vote on the amendment, and Councilman Jeff White did not vote on any amendments because he chaired the meeting.

Councilman Rinne, one of the no votes, said a number of other service organizations in town could use some extra funding and that it is not the city's responsibility. Council members Richard Johnson and Michelle Aldrich also said fundraising would be a better way to meet that need.

"Although this is really a worthwhile cause, and as Dr. Rinne noted, it's hard to vote against, I think that there are other options that might be more prudent and not set a precedent," Aldrich said.

She also said she will be getting in touch with Harbick to talk about other solutions.

Other budget amendments

Other amendments to the budget from Wednesday's meeting included:

Councilman Tom Segrave proposed adding $123,000 to the City Attorney's budget to fund an additional attorney. The funding comes from savings in the city's Wyoming Association of Risk Management insurance, which only increased 12%, instead of the expected 40%.

Without the additional position, City Attorney Mike O'Donnell said, "Nuisance enforcement, right of way, franchise agreement enforcement and updating code enforcement — none of those activities are capable of being carried out at the current time because of our severe understaffing."

That amendment was unanimously approved.

Segrave also proposed an amendment to go toward repairs, landscaping and maintenance for the Depot Plaza.

Community Recreation and Events Deputy Director Jason Sanchez is still compiling a list of work that needs to be done, but it includes painting and replacing light fixtures. The council approved $73,000 from those same insurance savings for what Segrave called "the premier gathering spot in our community."

Councilman Johnson voted no on the amendment, saying he'd prefer the additional money go toward staffing, and Councilman Rinne agreed, saying "people over paint." But a number of other council members supported the issue, citing the importance of maintaining the quality of the plaza for both residents and visitors, and the rest of the council voted yes on the measure.

Additionally, council members Aldrich and Roybal pointed out that the insurance savings isn't an annual occurrence, and the council set a goal to not put one-time revenues toward ongoing costs.

Those two amendments account for the entirety of the WARM savings. It is still unclear whether the Depot Plaza renovations would be finished before Cheyenne Frontier Days.

Segrave proposed a third amendment to increase the Compliance Division budget by $18,000 for nuisance abatement, which was originally only $5,000. The funds will come from those left over from the 2020 abandoned building fund.

"We've seen an increase in every single ward, in terms of a nuisance abatement," Compliance Director Eric Fountain said.

The amendment was unanimously approved.

Margaret Austin is the Wyoming Tribune Eagle's local government reporter. She can be reached at maustin@wyomingnews.com or 307-633-3152. Follow her on Twitter at @MargaretMAustin.