The public may get insight into the council’s process in late March when council members review the nearly 40 groups vying for a slice of upcoming 1-cent money.
Community groups will appear before the council over two or three sessions to answer questions or make clarifications on their projects.
Some programs, like the Casper Area Transportation Coalition’s weekend dial-a-ride program, are longtime beneficiaries that could not continue without funding. Similar programs include funding for the Natrona County Public Library for books and other materials and Community Action Partnership of Natrona County (CAP) for distribution to various local human services programs.
Some requests are up. The library has requested nearly twice the amount of money for the upcoming four-year cycle — $1,127,260, up from $665,000 — than it had in the last cycle. Same for CAP, which is requesting $700,000, double the $350,000 it asked for during the last cycle.
Other amounts are tiny. The Oil Capitol Auto Club requested $7,370 to purchase banners, though council members Monday indicated this request probably would not pass muster for community funding.
Other requests are considered public-facility improvements. These include the Platte River Parkway Trust ($1,978,345 for a pathway expansion) and the Nicolaysen Art Museum (building improvements for $453,885).
The so-called “fifth-penny” tax, which has passed in Natrona County every four years since 1974, sends one cent of every dollar spent in the counties to local governments to pay for everything from road maintenance to animal shelters. The $6 million available is part of $48 million total that city expects to collect over the next four years.
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