On October 11, 2017 a community meeting was held at the fairgrounds by the Niobrara Community Hospital. The hospital is seeking the 1% Specific Purpose Sales and Use Excise Tax in a special election to be held on November 7, 2017. The 1% Specific Purpose Sales and Use Excise Tax is collected as a 6th penny on sales tax, meaning, should the vote pass, sales tax would rise again to 6%. The tax is not new to Niobrara County, having previously ended July of this year when the funding amount needed for the The Tiger Plunge swimming pool was officially reached. In addition to the pool other projects have been previously funded by the 1% tax including a past hospital project. 

Michelle Skillings, Niobrara Community Hospital CEO was on hand to deliver a PowerPoint addressing the needs of the hospital and the list of materials for which they are seeking to cover the costs of with the money. In total, the hospital is seeking 1.975 million dollars. Per Shelly Larson, they have estimated that the amount will take roughly 3 ? years to obtain. 

Becky Freeman of the Niobrara County Courthouse where she is the Niobrara County Clerk was also on hand to discuss the proceedings of the special election. The special election will be held on Tuesday, November 7, 2017 where voters can participate from 7:00am to 7:00PM; at which time the polls will close and the results will be tabulated. Freeman made clear that although this is a special election, voters will still vote at their normal designated voting locations. For anyone with questions on where that may be, she encouraged them to stop by her office. Freeman also noted that voters could register at the polls in the case they had not participated in a recent election or were new voters. To complete this, a driver’s license and proof of Wyoming residency will be needed. In addition to the polls opening November 7, absentee voting can take place anytime between now and 7:00PM on November 7. Ballots can be retrieved from Freeman’s office at the courthouse and are required to be returned by 7:00PM on Tuesday, November 7. A ballot received at 7:01PM on Tuesday, November 7 will not be calculated in the election results. Finally, Freeman noted that this election is a majority vote election; meaning that the majority vote—be it yes or no—will carry the final result. 

In addition to Skillings speaking, Dr. Falkenberg, NCHS Chief of Staff was also on hand to address the crowd. Dr. Falkenberg has recently signed a five year contract with the hospital for which she’s already been with for a few years. 

Following the PowerPoint and Dr. Falkenberg’s address, the floor was opened to the crowd for any questions concerning the hospitals plans for the 1% money. It was noted that should the tax pass, the taxing rate, currently at 5%, would not rise to 6% until March of 2018. 

At the current time of print, a more detailed Q&A is scheduled to appear in The Lusk Herald. Please check back.