Chairwoman Roxie Hensley's Statement of Support for SF116

Good Afternoon, Chairman Olsen and Judiciary Committee members.

My name is Roxie Hensley, and I am a business owner and am a resident of Laramie. I am here today in strong support of Senate File 116.

This bill is not about whether storm water drainage is important. It is. We all understand that infrastructure costs money. We all understand that systems must be maintained.

What this bill is about is something even more fundamental: the right of citizens to vote before their city imposes a long term billing scheme- a tax, “a tax” on their homes, businesses, schools, counties, fairgrounds, and non-profit,

Title 16, Chapter 10 of Wyoming law clearly requires voter approval for financing storm water drainage utilities. Yet cities like Laramie and Cheyenne have claimed that a few words in another statute allow them to bypass the ballot box entirely.

IN Laramie, the city moved forward with surveying every property, hiring new employees, and sending out bills—before the voters had approved the financing mechanism. That’s is just backwards to me. THAT UNDERMINES TRUST. And it has resulted in lawsuits, division, and thousands of taxpayer dollars that will be spent fighting citizens in court.

Senate File 116 restores clarity. It restores accountability. And most importantly, it restores the voice of the voter.

This bill does not stop storm water projects. It simply says: if you want to create a utility and bill the public, you must first obtain public approval. That is not radical. That is representative government.

Without this clarification, these lawsuits could drag on for years possibly all way to the Wyoming supreme court costing even more money and creating even more uncertainty.

We are not asking for special treatment. We are asking for the law to be followed. We are asking for local control to mean control by the people, not control by unelected administrators or lobbyists.

Please pass Senate File 116 and affirm that in Wyoming, the voters still have the final say.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Roxie Hensley

Laramie, WY

307 399-1651