In Re Deromedi

2002 WY 69, 45 P.3d 1150, 2002 WL 863000
CourtWyoming Supreme Court
DecidedMay 7, 2002
Docket01-5
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 2002 WY 69 (In Re Deromedi) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Wyoming Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In Re Deromedi, 2002 WY 69, 45 P.3d 1150, 2002 WL 863000 (Wyo. 2002).

Opinion

45 P.3d 1150 (2002)
2002 WY 69

In the Matter of the Appeal of Shelley DEROMEDI, Hot Springs County Assessor.
Shelley Deromedi, Hot Springs County Assessor, Appellant (Petitioner),
v.
Town of Thermopolis, Appellee (Respondent).

No. 01-5.

Supreme Court of Wyoming.

May 7, 2002.

*1151 Dan O. Caldwell III, Hot Springs County and Prosecuting Attorney, and Daniel L. Forgey, Special Deputy Hot Springs County and Prosecuting Attorney, Thermopolis, Wyoming, Representing Appellant. Argument by Mr. Caldwell.

Michael S. Messenger of Messenger & Jurovich, Thermopolis, Wyoming, Representing Appellee.

Before LEHMAN, C.J., and GOLDEN, HILL, KITE, JJ., and SPANGLER, D.J., Retired.

GOLDEN, Justice.

[¶ 1] Appellee Town of Thermopolis (Town) established a public museum to house donated western wax figures and provide other scientific, educational, and cultural activities and displays. The Town entered into an agreement with a for-profit corporation to operate the museum and charge an admission fee to patrons. The Appellant Hot Springs County Assessor (Assessor) denied the Town a property tax exemption, the Hot Springs County Board of Equalization (CBOE) reversed that decision, and was in turn reversed by Wyoming's State Board of Equalization (SBOE). On appeal, the district court reversed the SBOE and reinstated the CBOE's order granting an exemption.

[¶ 2] We affirm the district court's decision to reverse the SBOE's decision to deny the exemption. The CBOE decision to grant the exemption is reinstated.

ISSUES

[¶ 3] The parties agree that the following statement of the issues is presented for our review:

1. Was the Hot Springs County Board of Equalization's July 20, 1999, Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law and Order arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion or otherwise not in accordance with law, or unsupported by substantial evidence?
2. In the context of the first issue, is the Town of Thermopolis' wax museum used primarily for a governmental purpose or as a commercial, proprietary venture?

FACTS

[¶ 4] In 1997, the executor of the Smith Family Trust of Jackson, Wyoming, offered to donate the contents of the former "Wax Museum of Old Wyoming" to a community that could provide a suitable location. Responding to public interest in the opportunity, the Town of Thermopolis (Town) purchased a vacant building in Thermopolis to house the museum. The Town applied for a Community Development Block Grant offered by the Wyoming Department of Commerce, *1152 Division of Economic and Community Development, and was awarded $120,000. The application process required the Town to evaluate and project economic benefits to the community. With the grant in hand, the Town used the funds to establish a museum that not only housed the donated wax figures but included other scientific, cultural, and educational displays and activities.

[¶ 5] The Town contracted with a for-profit firm to operate the museum in exchange for $1,000 per year. The for-profit firm planned to charge admission to the museum. Before operations began, the museum appeared on the county assessor's rolls, and the Town applied for a tax exemption, which was denied by the Hot Springs County Assessor in March of 1999. The Town objected, claiming that its museum property was exempt under the state constitution and state statute, and requested a hearing before the County Board of Equalization (CBOE).

[¶ 6] The CBOE held a contested case hearing and issued Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law and Order on July 20, 1999. It granted the exemption, and the assessor appealed to the State Board of Equalization (SBOE), which reversed the CBOE. The Town then appealed to the district court, which reversed the SBOE. This appeal followed.

DISCUSSION

Statutory Framework

[¶ 7] By statute, a town may establish, maintain and, in a manner the governing body determines, provide for a public museum. Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 15-1-103(a)(xxxii) (LexisNexis 2001). By constitutional[1] and statutory provision,[2] property owned by a town and used primarily for a governmental purpose is exempt from property taxes. Agency regulations have developed a list of considerations to assist with defining the term "used primarily for a governmental purpose," and approving exemptions.[3] The *1153 precise issue before the CBOE and the SBOE was whether this museum is used primarily for a governmental purpose. Each agency interpreted and applied these regulations, and each reached a different conclusion.

Standard of Review

[¶ 8] Our standard of review for cases arising from a county board contested case proceeding, appealed to a state agency, and finally arriving in this Court on appeal is as follows:

Since in this case the county board was the finder of the fact and the state board heard no additional testimony, we will treat the state board as an intermediate level of review and accord deference only to the county board's findings of fact. Thus, the primary focus of our review will be whether the county board's decision was lawful and supported by substantial evidence.

Laramie County Bd. of Equalization v. Wyo. State Bd. of Equalization, 915 P.2d 1184, 1188 (Wyo.1996) (quoting Union Pacific Railroad Co. v. Wyo. State Bd. of Equalization, 802 P.2d 856, 859 (Wyo.1990)).

The party challenging the sufficiency of the evidence has the burden of demonstrating the agency's decision is not supported by substantial evidence. If the agency action is supported by substantial evidence, its decision should be reversed only for errors of law. If the agency did not apply the correct rule of law, or applied it incorrectly, this Court does not defer to the agency's conclusion. The agency's errors of law are corrected by this Court.

Id. (quoting Butts v. Wyo. State Bd. of Architects, 911 P.2d 1062, 1065 (Wyo.1996)).

[¶ 9] The scope of appellate review of agency decisions is provided by statute:

(c) To the extent necessary to make a decision and when presented, the reviewing court shall decide all relevant questions of law, interpret constitutional and statutory provisions, and determine the meaning or applicability of the terms of an agency action. In making the following determinations, the court shall review the whole record or those parts of it cited by a party and due account shall be taken of the rule of prejudicial error. The reviewing court shall:
(i) Compel agency action unlawfully withheld or unreasonably delayed; and
(ii) Hold unlawful and set aside agency action, findings and conclusions found to be:
(A) Arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion or otherwise not in accordance with law;
(B) Contrary to constitutional right, power, privilege or immunity;
(C) In excess of statutory jurisdiction, authority or limitations or lacking statutory right;
(D) Without observance of procedure required by law; or

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Bluebook (online)
2002 WY 69, 45 P.3d 1150, 2002 WL 863000, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-deromedi-wyo-2002.