‘Smallest Town in America’ Has an Enormous Budget Problem
Vietnamese businessman Nguyen Dinh Pham, right, poses with Don Sammons, the self-proclaimed "mayor" of Buford, Wyoming, after winning the auction for the town in 2012. Tuoi Tre Newspaper / AP Photo
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Also in our State and Local Daily Digest: Minnesota’s numerous state secrecy provisions; Texas legislature vs. local governments; and some Maine schools may see big budget cuts.
LOCAL FINANCES | “The smallest town in America,” Buford, Wyoming, population one, is having money troubles. Buford is owned by a Vietnamese businessman, Nguyen Dinh Pham, who bought the town in 2012 for $900,000 in order to market his specialty coffee to Americans. Jason Hirsch began leasing the town from Pham in 2015. Hirsch acts as the town manager, town sanitation team, town handyman, town spokesman and convenience store operator. But his lease is up in December and Hirsch says that while he’s interested in renewing it, he’d need different terms that relieve him of some financial obligations. “It’s a week by week thing right now,” said Hirsch, “It depends on whether I can make the bills.” [Casper Star-Tribune]
STATE LEGISLATURES | The Texas State Legislature will be dealing with a number of issues this week that have ramifications for local government control. Lawmakers in Austin will be weighing in on restroom ordinances, policies that relate to ride-hailing, protocol for raising property taxes, plastic bag bans, short-term rental issues, sanctuary city issues and more. [The Texas Tribune]
Republicans in the Pennsylvania General Assembly are showing signs they may be more open to backing tax increases than they were during last year’s budget-making process. The state faces a projected deficit of nearly $3 billion through next summer. "Our solution is always to cut spending, but we know we're at a pretty bare point right now," said state Rep. Jeff Pyle, a Republican. "So we know we have to come up with some revenue." [Associated Press via PennLive]
The South Dakota State Legislature adjourned its 2017 session on Friday passing a $4.5 billion state budget that’s been described as “no frills” due to lower-than-projected tax revenue. [KELO-TV]
OPEN GOVERNMENT | After years state lawmakers “chipping away” at Minnesota’s public disclosure law by adding hundreds of exemptions, there are at least 660 secrecy provisions in the North Star State’s framework for transparency. Gov. Mark Dayton is frustrated and thinks that a four-member state transparency watchdog agency doesn’t do as much as it could to connect the public’s information with the public. “There’s got to be a recourse for people,” said Dayton. “There’s got to be somebody who’s going to be taking this seriously.” [Star Tribune]
EDUCATION FUNDING | Many school districts in Maine are digesting the impacts of major funding cuts proposed in Gov. Paul LePage’s state budget plan which reduces funding in wealthier areas. Schools in Scarborough, south of Portland, will see their state subsidy cut by 40 percent, or $1.4 million. [Portland Press Herald]
LAW ENFORCEMENT | Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley is describing the shooting of a police officer in the Walnut Hills neighborhood on Sunday as an attempted “assassination.” The mayor has promised an aggressive prosecution of the suspect, who has a lengthy criminal record. "This is not OK. This is not OK to be shooting at cops, and we won't stand for it,” the mayor said. The officer shot did not sustain life-threatening injuries. [WCPO-TV]
TRANSIT | San Francisco is planning new laws to regulate private “jitney” buses. Chariot, a private bus service owned by Ford operates in the city. “We have had a number of concerns about how these services have been operating,” said Alex Jonlin, a San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency analyst, said. “We’ve seen a number of instances where they might stop in bike lanes, active travel lanes and crosswalks,” he also said. “We’re concerned with making sure these are operating safely in our transportation system.” [San Francisco Examiner]
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