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Budget cuts
paid,suchaspayingtheaccoun-
tant, paying for office supplies,
postage, the telephone bill and
insuranceforbothdirectorsand
officers, but the budget will still
remainbarebones,Moellersaid.
Moeller also said she will
continue to do her job despite
the cuts.
“I still do what I do,” she said.
“I still go out and talk to people.
My time is not going to be cut
back. In an effort to conserve
money for the company, if I’m
notneededattheoffice,thenI’m
notgoingtostickaround.Wetry
to keep consistent office hours. I
try to be here my four hours, but
if someone wants to meet with
me, I will try to meet with them
within my four hours.”
To address the cut, Moeller
said the EDC will be working
on fundraising opportunities.
“By the end of the year, we
may be moving toward a mem-
bershipstructuresotherewould
bemorecommunityinvolvement
in what we do and they can see
the way we do things,” she said.
“Dues would be one of our fund-
ing options.”
Moeller said the cut from the
county affects the EDC because
it can determine the future of
the organization.
“The cut from the county af-
fects us because it affects for us
how long we could be around if
we don’t change the way we do
things now,” she said. “It affects
how long we might be in busi-
ness. We have a certain amount
of money. When that money is
gone, we’re done. We don’t have
any other sources of income.”
The board either has to
change the way it does things
with fundraising and commu-
nity involvement or there is no
EDC, Moeller said.
“Without the EDC, I think
it would be detrimental to the
community,” she said.
The Hot Springs County
Counseling Services are also
facing stiff cuts, both locally
and state wide, said Executive
Director Allan Braaten,
The Hot Springs County
Counseling Services received
$4,000 from the county for the
2015-16 fiscal year and request-
ed $10,000 for the 2016-17 fis-
cal year yet received no funds.
Braaten said the Hot Springs
County Counseling Services re-
quests $10,000 from the county
every year.
He also said they received
less money from a grant they
applyforeveryyear.Hesaidthe
amountofthegranthasbeenre-
ducedeveryyear.Originallythe
grant was $40,000 and it is now
down to $20,000 over a three- or
four-year period. The state also
cut $34,000 in their contract.
“We really have to take a look
at who we hire and if we can
hire people and what we can
pay them,” he said. “We’re not
being able to pay a whole lot for
salaries.”
With a budget around
$600,000, salaries and bene-
fits take up around $400,000,
Braaten said.
“You can tell from there that
we’re going to have to cut back,”
he said. “We may have to cut
back in personnel. We’ve kind
of stripped down because of the
things that have gone on with
the state in the last two years,
so we’ve kind of had practice
at this.”
Braaten said they will not
have to cut positions, but they
will have to take a hard look at
benefits.
“We pay really high benefits
and we’re going to take a look
really strongly this year at the
benefit package,” he said. “We
haven’t raised salaries in five
years.Wecan’t.Andthecutfrom
the county hurts even more.”
Because of the state cuts, the
HotSpringsCountyCounseling
Services is close to $150,000 in
debt to Pinnacle Bank.
“We have to figure out how
to start repaying them," Braat-
en said.
Braaten also said the center
will have to look at how they
structure hours.
“Sometimes we’ve gone to
what’scalledafeverservicepay-
ment for service, which means
that we pay them (employees)
for billable hours,” he said. “We
might have to go to that struc-
ture again.”
The center may have to cut
down on certain services they
provide as well, Braaten said.
“We provide emergency ser-
vices,” he said. “We also provide
consultation and crisis man-
agement. We may not have the
ability to provide some of those
services anymore. It will kind
of fair out in the future here.”
Braaten said all the hits com-
bined from the state on down,
can cause great changes in ser-
vices, especially in this com-
munity.
“All of this started over the
energy sector being shut down
because the energy prices went
bust, the coal industry went
bust,” he said. “All of these peo-
ple are being laid off and there’s
no work to find. Then what hap-
pens is you have a lot more de-
pression. You have a lot more
domestic violence. You have a
lot more addictions, alcoholism
and use of meth. Things like
that start to go up. So what they
did was cut services that these
people are going to need, which
doesn’t make a lot of sense.”
The county should be looking
into other areas to cut funds,
Braaten said.
“I don’t know what all they
cut, but they tend to cut health-
care services,” he said.
Braaten said the reason they
ask the county for money is not
just to provide the services. In
the beginning when the com-
munity health centers were
brought into the counties, the
county was asked to support at
least 10 percent.
“Theywerepayingagoodpor-
tion of the money for the cen-
ters when we first opened,” he
said. “Now, they’ve gradually
cut it down. The last time we re-
ceived no funds was in 1990-91.
They had usually given us some
funds, but not like the $25,000
to $70,000 like they did in the
1980s.”
The funds are to help support
thecontractthecenterisgetting
forslidingfeescales,Braatensaid.
“They were supposed to pay a
10 percent match to the sliding
fee scale,” he said.
Braaten explained that the
building for the center is a coun-
ty building that was built with a
landgrantin1984,whichmeans
the center is there free of charge
and that is a kind thing from
the county.
“We don’t kick a whole lot,
but the fact is we still need sup-
port,” he said. “We still need the
money from the county.”
The $10,000 the center re-
quested is to show that the
countyisgivingtheir10percent
matching funds, Braaten said.
“If there are no matching
funds from the county for which
the state asks for in their con-
tract, where do you go from
there?” he said. “Where do you
get your funding? I always ask
the commissioners because we
really need to show effort, sup-
portingthesekindsofprograms.
If they disappear, we’re going to
have serious problems.”
Braaten said he can under-
stand why some things have
to be cut.
“I don’t know what their pro-
cess was, but they really have to
lookatthehumanresourcesthat
theyhaveinthecountyandwhat
they provide the county outside
ofjustcostingthemsomething,”
he said. “The Crisis Center, for
example, doesn’t have any in-
come like we do. We don’t have
a whole lot, but being that they
do not have income, that mon-
ey will have to come out of their
grant. It’ll be interesting how
this all plays out for the next
five years.”
The Chamber of Commerce
did not receive any funds for the
2016-17 fiscal year either. Last
year,theyreceived$5,000which
was the amount requested.
Executive Director Meri Ann
Rush said they will make up for
the loss of funds by increasing
membership and fundraising.
“We’re going to need to make
up the difference with member-
ship because that’s where a lot
of our revenue comes from,” she
said. “Fundraising from differ-
ent events like the Demolition
Derby will also help.”
Rush said they hope to have a
steady increase in membership
as they have every year.
“We aren’t really doing any-
thing different,” she said. “We
willjustincreaseourone-on-one
contact. As of today, nothing is
cut.Otherthanthe$5,000,noth-
ing has changed in the budget.
The$5,000ishuge.Ithelpswith
administrative and operating
fees, but everything has pretty
much stayed the same.”
TheHotSpringsCrisisLine’s
budget this year also received
no funds from the county. Last
year, the Crisis Line received
$4,000forwhichtheyrequested.
HotSpringsCrisisLineExec-
utiveDirectorJenniferDomhoff
saidtherehavebeennocutsyet.
“There will be no cuts as of
yet,” she said. “We just plan to
rev up our fundraising efforts
andwehopetohavethecommu-
nity supporting those efforts.”
Domhoff said they will ad-
dress the cuts more at next
month’s board meeting.
The Soil Conservation Dis-
trictandPredatorManagement
received no funds from the state
either,butwerenotavailablefor
comment at press time. The Soil
Conservation District received
$16,000 last year for which they
requested. Predator Manage-
ment requested $15,000 last
year for which they received.
PAGE A6 www.thermopir.com July 28, 2016
WyomingStateSenateCandidate
PreServing the Wyoming LifeStyLe
Agar
Wyatt
rePubLiCAn
Paid for by Agar for State Senate
Agar for State Senate
P.O. Box 1372
Thermopolis, WY 82443
(307) 867-2404
wyatt.agar@gmail.com
Visit us on Facebook at:
Wyatt Agar for Senate
District 20 - Republican
Meet & Greet
Ice creAM SocIAl
Fri., July 29 • 5-7p.m.
Hot Springs State Park
Washakie Shelter
As your State Senator,
Wyatt will preserve
Wyoming’s lifestyle!
We have approached the day in which we are
in need of new faces in leadership who have a
fresh perspective to advocate for the people of
District 20.
In order to preserve the Wyoming lifestyle,
and protect our generational livelihoods, we
need relevant, practical and engaging civil ser-
vants who will stand on the front lines to offer
solutions, not more political rhetoric.
As the owner of a business that spans not
only District 20 but also 3 other Western States
and employs a broad work force, I understand
the moral, fiscal, and regulatory issues facing us
today.
As the Senator of District 20 I will represent
the people, not the system.
“
”
August 8-10 • Ages 0-4
Hot Springs County School District,
Vocational Building
Call 921-0975 for an appointment today
A developmental screening includes vision, hearing, speech and language, motor skills and pre-academics. Any
child ages 0-4 are encouraged to have a developmental screening. The HSC Preschool Health Fair
is sponsored by HSCSD #1 and Children's Resource Center
This is a Hot Springs County child find program.
Early help makes a difference
HOT SPRINGS COUNTY
PRESCHOOL
SCREENING
& HEALTH FAIR
MIKE CHIMENTI
HOT SPRINGS COUNTY COMMISSIONER
MIKE CHIMENTIMIKE CHIMENTIMIKE CHIMENTIMIKE CHIMENTIMIKE CHIMENTIMIKE CHIMENTIMIKE CHIMENTIMIKE CHIMENTIMIKE CHIMENTIMIKE CHIMENTIMIKE CHIMENTIMIKE CHIMENTIMIKE CHIMENTIMIKE CHIMENTIMIKE CHIMENTIMIKE CHIMENTIMIKE CHIMENTIMIKE CHIMENTIMIKE CHIMENTIMIKE CHIMENTIMIKE CHIMENTI
HOT SPRINGS COUNTY COMMISSIONERHOT SPRINGS COUNTY COMMISSIONERHOT SPRINGS COUNTY COMMISSIONERHOT SPRINGS COUNTY COMMISSIONER
MIKE CHIMENTIMIKE CHIMENTIMIKE CHIMENTIMIKE CHIMENTIMIKE CHIMENTIMIKE CHIMENTIMIKE CHIMENTIMIKE CHIMENTIMIKE CHIMENTIMIKE CHIMENTIMIKE CHIMENTIMIKE CHIMENTIMIKE CHIMENTIMIKE CHIMENTIMIKE CHIMENTIMIKE CHIMENTIMIKE CHIMENTIMIKE CHIMENTIMIKE CHIMENTIMIKE CHIMENTIMIKE CHIMENTIMIKE CHIMENTIMIKE CHIMENTIMIKE CHIMENTIMIKE CHIMENTIMIKE CHIMENTIMIKE CHIMENTIMIKE CHIMENTIMIKE CHIMENTIMIKE CHIMENTI
HOT SPRINGS COUNTY COMMISSIONERHOT SPRINGS COUNTY COMMISSIONERHOT SPRINGS COUNTY COMMISSIONERHOT SPRINGS COUNTY COMMISSIONERHOT SPRINGS COUNTY COMMISSIONERHOT SPRINGS COUNTY COMMISSIONER
TheCitizensofHotSpringsCountyDeserveMyCOMMITMENT.
• Integrity, Honesty, Strength,
Commitment
• Leadership & Experience
• Let’s Make A Difference
• Quality In Government
•Taking Action. Getting Results
•Working For YOU!
Paid for by Mike Chimenti
DEDICATED TO AND WORKING FOR
THE PEOPLE OF HOT SPRINGS COUNTY
AND THERMOPOLIS!
Wyoming Whiskey needs to fill the shoes of
Plant Maintenance Officer to keep our distillery
running smoothly. Ten hour days on Mon/Tues/
Thurs/Fri. Experience with water treatment,
steam generators, and gen-
eral maintenance a plus;
pay dependent on expe-
rience. Please contact
Sam Mead at 864-2116,
sam@wyomingwhiskey.
com, or stop by the dis-
tillery in Kirby.
PLANT MAINTENANCE OFFICER
Jesse Rodriguez shows off his propelled helicopter at Ralph Witters Elementary dur-
ing a Lights On session Monday afternoon.
Ready for takeoff
photo by Dennis Nierzwicki