060-21 Wyo. Code R. § 21-5 - Grant Eligibility

(a) Applicants. Incorporated cities and towns, counties, special districts and joint powers boards shall be eligible to apply for grants under this chapter provided the applicant is an "eligible applicant" as defined in Section 2(e). If the applicant is a special district or joint powers board, it must be legally formed and approved prior to submitting an application.

(b) Purposes. Pursuant to W.S. 9-4-604 and Laws 2006, Chapter 35, Section 317(b) and Section 318, the Board shall provide grants to eligible applicants which are directly impacted by the development of natural gas, to be used only when the board finds the grant is necessary to:

(i) Alleviate an emergency situation which poses a direct and immediate threat to health, safety or welfare;

(ii) Comply with a federal or state mandate;

(iii) Provide an essential public service. Essential public services include, but are not limited to capital construction, acquisition of capital equipment, public safety projects, housing related projects and road repair or construction.

(c) Maximum Grant Percentage. Cumulatively, the consensus list of projects is limited to a 75% grant from this Chapter. Applicants may request individual project grant percentages ranging from no local match to 99% local match. Any applicant that requests a grant in excess of 50% must provide the financial information requested in Section 6(a) and indicate within the "Project Summary" form why a grant in excess of 50% is requested. Pursuant to Laws 2006, Chapter 35, Section 317(b), the Board after considering the applicant's financial strength may waive or reduce any matching funds required by W.S. W.S. 9-4-604. The Board will use the following guidelines to determine appropriate grant percentages.

(i) All eligible applicants are presumed eligible to receive a grant up to 50% of eligible project costs.

(ii) The Board may make grants up to 75% to counties, hospital and fire districts if the board determines that

(A) the county either levied at least eleven (11) mills for operating expenses during the current fiscal year or is imposing the optional tax permitted by W.S. W.S. W.S. 39-15-204(a)(i) or (iii) at the time of the application and

(B) the county in which the project is located has an assessed valuation equal to or less than two and one-half percent (2.5%) of the State's total assessed valuation. The Office will use the current annual report from the Wyoming Department of Revenue to determine assessed valuation. The Office will use the current federal census to determine population. If the applicant is a hospital district or fire district it must also levy the maximum mill levy available to the district.

(iii) The Board may award grants up to 75% of the eligible project cost to municipalities if the Board determines that the municipality at the time of application

(A) levied at least seven (7) mills for operating expenses including special district levies chargeable against the general city or town levy during the current fiscal year or is imposing the optional tax permitted by W.S. W.S. W.S. 39-15-204(a)(i) or (iii) at the time of the application and

(B) has a population of less than 1,300 according to the latest federal census and/or

(C) is located within a county where the three-year average of the local government share of state sales and use tax per capita is less than seventy percent (70%) of the statewide average.

(iv) Waiver or reduction of match requirements. The Board may reduce or waive the above match requirements after considering the applicant's financial strength and upon written request from the applicant at the time it makes application. Factors that the Board may consider when reducing or waiving match include but are not limited to the total mills levied against all properties in the jurisdiction of the applicant, the total sales and use tax levy in the county in which the applicant is located, and the ratio of debt to the assessed valuation of the applicant. Based on these same factors the Board may also waive the requirement that cumulatively, the consensus list of projects in a county is limited to a 75% maximum grant percentage.

Notes

060-21 Wyo. Code R. § 21-5