Laramie County Commissioner Linda Heath says the county seems to be holding up pretty well so far in the face of a statewide economic downturn caused by low energy prices.

But she says she is concerned about what may happen down the road, and especially what the effect of more cuts in state funding could be.

Heath says Laramie County has been cushioned somewhat from the kind of economic devastation that has hit places like Natrona and Campbell counties, where the economies are largely dependent on the energy industries.

Some of those counties have seen sales tax revenues decline by around 30 percent compared to the same time a year ago according to reports from the Division of Economic Analysis.

By comparison Laramie County has seen a decline of about 11 percent in sales tax revenues--still significant, but well below the statewide average of around 21 percent and far below the hits taken by some of the big energy producing counties.

While there had been an increase in energy industry activity in Laramie County prior to the recent downturn, Heath says the diversity of the county economy has meant the hit it has taken from low energy prices is less severe.

She says the addition of companies like Magpul Industries, Microsoft and Greenhouse Data to the Cheyenne-area economy has been a major help in weathering the storm. She says Magpul originally expected to hire somewhere between 150-200 employees, but has instead added about 300 jobs to the local economy.

She points out Sierra Trading Post will soon be moving into it's new warehouse, opening up it's current warehouse for Magpul to move into, adding the potential for more growth.

Heath says the growth of the Cheyenne branches of both Magpul Industries and Microsoft are helping offset the impact of low energy prices on government revenues. The growth of those companies contributes to the local tax base through increased property taxes, while their employees help the sales tax situation by making purchases in the area.

But despite all of that Heath is worried about the long-term impact on low energy prices on Laramie County. She says the biggest concern is a ripple effect from decreased state funding

She says the county has already ponied up an extra $200,000 in money for local programs to cover decreased funding from the state and Cheyenne city governments. She says if the downturn continues, local programs could see bigger cuts in funding funding from the state, adding "I don't know that we are going to be able to support that."

Heath says that while she's heard some comments from people in the energy industry that they think energy prices could improve enough before long to boost energy activity, the bottom line is that no one knows for sure when that might happen.

Cheyenne Mayor Rick Kaysen has said he is also concerned about the potential impacts of cuts in state funding for local government.

The mayor has said that if the funding were completely eliminated, it could impact almost ten percent of the city budget, which he says would pose a real challenge to city government.

But he says the poor state of the Wyoming economy and the reduction in tax revenues to the state caused by the downturn make that a real possibility.

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