Cost of government in Hot Springs County

Numbers were recently released by the State of Wyoming on the costs of maintaining county governments throughout the state, including Hot Springs County.

The report is broken down by county, showing the expenses incurred as well as the revenue and their sources, finally showing what running the government actually costs each taxpayer in each county.

The largest expense Hot Springs County has is administration costs, which come in at $1,268,359 for the year.

The costs for the sheriff’s office, jail and road and bridge departments are next, with the sheriff’s office costing $338,566 for the year, the jail, $345,381, and road and bridge costs taxpayers $322,297.

Keeping the county attorney’s office running smoothly amounts to $260,308, with the county assessor’s office coming in next at $233,037.

Rounding out the biggest ticket items is the county clerk’s office at $194,332.

All told, the county’s expenses were $4,938,698 for the last fiscal year, which ended June 30.

Fortunately, revenue for the county was $6,592,435.

Revenue sources included $2.3 million in taxes, and $2.1 million in state aid. There was also nearly a million in direct federal aid.

Taking all these numbers into consideration, each Hot Springs County resident paid $1,026 to keep the county running for the year.

We fall in the middle as far as per person costs across the state. The highest taxes paid per person is in Sublette County where they’re on the hook for $3,352 per person while the lowest are paid by those in Washakie County at just $529 per person.