Housing Projects

Wyo. Stat. Ann. tit. 15, ch. 10

in effect

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 15-10-101 Definitions.

(a) As used in this chapter: (i) "Area of operation" means the area within the boundaries of a municipality or county as the case may be or, in the case of combined operations of municipalities and counties, the area comprising the operating area of all the municipalities and counties so combining. In the case of a housing authority, all the area of operation of the municipality or county, or the combined area of two (2) or more municipalities and counties for which the housing authority is established; (ii) "Housing project" or "project" means any undertaking on contiguous or noncontiguous sites to: (A) Make plans and undertake surveys to carry out the purposes of this chapter; (B) Demolish, clear or remove unsafe or unsanitary or substandard buildings; or (C) Provide, or assist in providing by any suitable method decent, safe and sanitary housing and related facilities to persons of low income. (iii) "Person" means any individual, firm, corporation, partnership, company, association or institution; (iv) "Persons of low income" means persons or families who, as determined by the public body undertaking a project, cannot afford to pay the amounts at which private enterprise, unaided by public subsidy, is providing decent, safe and sanitary housing; (v) "Political subdivision" means county, city or town, school district or any other local government entity of the state or the officers thereof.

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 15-10-102 Findings prerequisite to exercising authority.

(a) No municipality or county shall exercise the authority conferred by this chapter until its governing body adopts a resolution finding that: (i) Unsanitary or unsafe or substandard inhabited dwelling accommodations exist in the municipality or county; or (ii) There is a shortage of safe and sanitary dwelling accommodations in the municipality or county available to persons of low income at rentals or prices they can afford.

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 15-10-103 Powers of municipalities and counties generally.

(a) Every municipality and county may: (i) Prepare, carry out and operate projects and provide for the acquisition, construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, improvement, extension, alteration or repair of any project; (ii) Lease, rent, sell or lease with option to purchase any dwellings, accommodations, lands, buildings, structures or facilities embraced in any project and establish and revise the rents or charges therefor; (iii) Own, hold and improve real or personal property; (iv) Acquire by any means any property or any interest therein; (v) Sell, lease, exchange, transfer, assign, pledge or dispose of any real or personal property or any interest therein; (vi) Make loans for the provision of housing for occupancy by persons of low income; (vii) Insure any property or operations against any risks or hazards; (viii) Invest any funds held in reserves or sinking funds, or any funds not required for immediate disbursement, in property or securities in which savings banks may legally invest funds subject to their control; to redeem its bonds at the redemption price established therein or to purchase its bonds at less than the redemption price and ensure that all bonds so redeemed or purchased are cancelled; (ix) Prepare plans for and assist in the relocation of persons (including individuals, families, business concerns, nonprofit organizations and others) displaced from a housing project site.

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 15-10-104 Property provisions inapplicable.

No provision of law with respect to the acquisition, operation or disposition of property by public bodies is applicable to a municipality or county exercising powers under this chapter unless specifically provided by the legislature.

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 15-10-105 Joint exercise of powers; increasing area of operation.

(a) Any powers capable of exercise by a municipality or county under this chapter may be exercised jointly with any other municipality or county or combinations thereof. (b) The area of operation of any municipality, county or housing authority or any combination of these bodies operating jointly may be increased to include additional contiguous areas upon the request or consent, by resolution, of the governing body of the municipality or county within which the additional area lies.

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 15-10-106 Dwellings for major disaster victims.

Notwithstanding the provisions of this chapter or any other provisions of law during the period a municipality or county determines there is an acute need for housing to assure the availability of dwellings for victims of a major disaster, the municipality or county, as the case may be, may undertake the development and administration of housing projects for the federal government, and dwellings in any housing project under its jurisdiction may be made available to victims of a major disaster.

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 15-10-107 Tax exemption for public property; exception.

The property of a municipality or county acquired or held pursuant to this chapter is public property used for essential public, governmental purposes and is exempt from all taxes and special assessments of any public body. This tax exemption does not apply to any portion of a project used for a profitmaking enterprise, but in taxing those portions appropriate allowance shall be made for any expenditure by a municipality or county for utilities or other public services which it provides to the property. In lieu of taxes on property exempt under this section, a municipality or county may agree to make such payments to any public body as it finds consistent with the maintenance of the low-rent character of housing projects and the achievement of the purpose of this chapter.

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 15-10-108 Financing; borrowing; obligations authorized; security; debt provisions inapplicable; tax exemption.

(a) A municipality or county may borrow funds and issue any types of obligations it determines are necessary for the purpose of financing housing for persons of low income, including obligations on which the principal and interest are payable exclusively from the income and revenues: (i) Of the project financed with the proceeds of the obligations; or (ii) Of certain designated projects whether or not they are financed in whole or in part with the proceeds of the obligations. (b) The obligations specified in subsection (a) of this section may be additionally secured by a pledge of any loan, grant or contributions, or parts thereof, from the federal government or other source or a pledge of any income or revenues connected with a housing project. (c) Neither the governing body nor any person executing an obligation as specified in subsection (a) of this section is liable personally thereon by reason of the issuance thereof. The obligations issued under this chapter are payable solely from the sources provided in this section and do not constitute an indebtedness of the municipality or county within the meaning of any constitutional or statutory debt limitation or restriction and are not general obligations of the municipality or county. The obligations are declared to be issued for an essential public and governmental purpose and to be public instrumentalities and, together with interest thereon and income therefrom, are exempt from taxes. The tax exemption provisions of this chapter are considered part of the contract for the security of the obligations authorized by this chapter and need not be restated in the obligations.

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 15-10-109 Financing; form and manner of issuing obligations; negotiability; presumptions.

(a) Obligations issued pursuant to this chapter shall be authorized by resolution and may: (i) Be issued in a form and manner and subject to the terms and conditions the resolution provides; (ii) Be sold at public or private sale. (b) Any provision of any law to the contrary notwithstanding, any obligations issued pursuant to this chapter are fully negotiable. (c) In any suit, action or proceeding involving the validity or enforceability of any obligation issued pursuant to this chapter or the security therefor, any obligation reciting in substance that it has been issued by the municipality or county to aid in financing a project is conclusively deemed to have been issued for that purpose, and the project is conclusively deemed to have been planned, located and carried out in accordance with the purposes and provisions of this chapter.

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 15-10-110 Financing; exemption from judicial process; exception; waiver.

All property acquired or held by a municipality or county pursuant to this chapter is exempt from levy and sale by virtue of an execution, and no execution or other judicial process shall issue against the property, nor shall any judgment against the municipality or county be a charge or lien upon the property. The provisions of this section do not apply to or limit the right of obligees to pursue any remedies for the enforcement of any pledge or lien given by the municipality or county on its rents, fees or revenues or the right of the federal government to pursue any remedies conferred upon it pursuant to this chapter. A municipality or county may waive its exemption under this section with respect to claims against any profitmaking enterprise occupying any portion of a project, provided that a waiver does not affect or impair the rights of any obligee of the municipality or county.

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 15-10-111 Financing; federal assistance.

Any municipality or county may borrow money or accept financial assistance from the federal government for any project or related activities. A municipality or county may include in any contract for financial assistance with the federal government any provisions which the federal government requires as conditions to its financial aid consistent with the purposes of this chapter.

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 15-10-112 Power of eminent domain.

(a) A municipality or county has the right to acquire by the exercise of the power of eminent domain any real property or interest therein which it deems necessary for its purposes under this chapter after adopting a resolution declaring that the acquisition of the real property described in the resolution is necessary for such purposes. A municipality or county may exercise the power of eminent domain in the manner provided by law. (b) Property already devoted to a public use may be acquired by the power of eminent domain, provided that no real property belonging to any public body may be acquired without its consent.

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 15-10-113 Powers of public bodies generally; agreements; effect thereof; notice.

(a) Consistent with the intent of this chapter, any public body, upon terms it determines, may: (i) Dedicate, convey or lease any of its interest in any property, or grant easements or any other rights therein to a municipality, or county, or to the federal government; (ii) Cause parks, playgrounds or recreational, community, educational, water, sewer or drainage facilities, or any other works which it is otherwise empowered to undertake, to be furnished adjacent to or in connection with those projects and to incur the entire expense of any public improvements made pursuant to this chapter; (iii) Furnish, dedicate, close, pave, install, grade, regrade, plan or replan streets, roads, roadways, alleys, sidewalks or other places which it is otherwise empowered to undertake; (iv) Plan or replan, zone or rezone any parts of a project; (v) Make exceptions from building regulations and ordinances and make changes in its map; (vi) Cause services to be furnished to a municipality or county of the character which the public body is otherwise empowered to furnish; (vii) Do any and all things necessary or convenient to aid and cooperate in the planning, undertaking, construction or operation of the projects; (viii) Enter into agreements with a municipality or county respecting action to be taken by the public body pursuant to powers granted by this chapter. (b) If title to or possession of any project is held by any public body or governmental agency authorized by law to engage in the development or administration of low-rent housing or slum clearance projects, including any agency or instrumentality of the United States of America, the provisions of the agreements shall inure to the benefit of and may be enforced by the public body or governmental agency. (c) Any sale, conveyance, lease or agreement by a public body provided for in this section may be made after public notice, notwithstanding any other laws to the contrary.

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 15-10-114 When investment in bonds authorized; duty of care; other restrictions inapplicable.

(a) The state or any officer thereof, any political subdivision, any person carrying on a banking or insurance business and any fiduciary may legally invest any funds belonging to them or within their control in any bonds issued pursuant to this chapter or issued by any public housing authority or agency in the United States, any of its territories, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam or the Virgin Islands, when the bonds are secured by: (i) A pledge of annual contributions or other financial assistance to be paid by the United States government or any agency thereof; or (ii) An agreement between the United States government or any agency thereof and the municipality, county, public housing authority or agency in which the United States government or any agency thereof agrees to lend to the municipality, county, public housing authority or agency, prior to the maturity of the bonds, monies which: (A) When together with any other monies irrevocably committed to the payment of interest on the bonds will suffice to pay the principal of the bonds or other obligations with interest to maturity; (B) Under the terms of the agreement are required to be used for this purpose. (b) The bonds specified in subsection (a) of this section are authorized security for all public deposits and are fully negotiable in this state. (c) Nothing contained in this section shall be construed as relieving any person from any duty of exercising reasonable care in selecting securities. (d) The provisions of this section apply notwithstanding any restrictions on investments contained in other laws.

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 15-10-115 Powers which may be exercised by municipality or county or by authority.

(a) A municipality or county may exercise its housing project powers or, if its governing body determines such action to be in the public interest, may establish a housing authority pursuant to W.S. 15-10-116 and elect to have these powers exercised by it. A housing authority so established is vested with all powers conferred by this chapter on municipalities and counties except that the following functions must be exercised by the municipality or county itself: (i) The findings required to be made as provided in W.S. 15-10-102; (ii) The power to approve a housing project; (iii) The powers relating to cooperation among municipalities and counties under W.S. 15-10-113; (iv) The powers of municipalities and counties under subsection (a) of this section; and (v) The power to establish a housing authority under the provisions of W.S. 15-10-116.

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 15-10-116 Housing authority; creation; form; commissioners; proceedings; officers, agents; proof of establishment.

(a) There is created in each municipality and county a public body corporate and politic to be known as the "housing authority" of a municipality or county. (b) If the governing body of each of two (2) or more municipalities or counties, or combinations of municipalities and counties, has made the finding prescribed in W.S. 15-10-102, has taken the necessary action to cooperate with one another and has elected as provided in W.S. 15-10-115 to have its housing project powers exercised by a housing authority created for all the municipalities or counties so joining or cooperating, a public body corporate and politic to be known as a regional housing authority shall thereupon exist for all these municipalities or counties or combinations thereof. Additional municipalities or counties may elect to have the regional authority exercise their powers upon taking the actions specified in this subsection, and with the consent, by resolution, of all the municipalities and counties having elected to have their powers exercised by the regional authority. (c) If a housing authority has been created and authorized to exercise housing project powers, commissioners of the authority shall be appointed as follows: (i) In the case of a municipal housing authority, the mayor, with the advice and consent of the governing body, shall appoint five (5) persons as commissioners; (ii) In the case of a county housing authority, the governing body shall appoint five (5) commissioners. Commissioners who are first appointed to a municipal or county authority shall be designated to serve for terms of one (1), two (2), three (3), four (4) and five (5) years, respectively, from the date of their appointment. Thereafter commissioners shall be appointed as specified for a term of five (5) years and until their successors are chosen, except that all vacancies shall be filled for the unexpired term; (iii) In the case of a regional housing authority, the governing body of each municipality and county participating shall appoint one (1) person as a commissioner of the authority. If only two (2) municipalities or counties or a combination thereof are participating, the commissioners appointed by the governing bodies of the participants shall appoint one (1) additional commissioner. The commissioners of a regional authority shall be appointed for terms of five (5) years, except that all vacancies shall be filled for the unexpired term; (iv) Each commissioner shall qualify by taking the official oath of office prescribed by general statute; (v) A commissioner shall not receive compensation for his services but is entitled to reimbursement for necessary expenses incurred in the discharge of his duties; (vi) Each commissioner shall hold office until his successor has been appointed and has qualified. A certificate of appointment or reappointment of any commissioner shall be filed with the authority, and this certificate is conclusive evidence of the due and proper appointment of the commissioner. (d) The powers of each authority are vested in the commissioners. The commissioners shall elect from among their members a chairman and vice chairman. A majority of the commissioners of an authority constitute a quorum for all purposes, notwithstanding the existence of any vacancies. Action may be taken by the authority upon a vote of a majority of the commissioners present, unless in any case the bylaws of the authority require a larger number. Meetings of the commissioners of an authority may be held anywhere within the area of operation of the authority or within any additional area in which the authority is authorized to undertake a project. (e) An authority may employ an executive director, legal and technical experts and such other officers, agents and employees as it requires, and shall determine their qualifications, duties and compensation. An authority may delegate to one (1) or more of its agents or employees any powers or duties it deems proper. (f) In any suit, action or proceeding involving the validity or enforcement of or relating to any contract of the authority, an authority is conclusively deemed to be established and authorized to transact business and exercise its powers upon proof of compliance with the provisions of paragraphs (c)(i) or (ii) of this section, as the case may be. A copy of the resolutions required to be adopted by the governing body electing to have its housing project powers exercised by a housing authority shall be filed with the clerk. A copy of the resolution duly certified by the clerk is admissible in evidence in any suit, action or proceeding.

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 15-10-117 Housing authority; removal of commissioners.

A commissioner of an authority may be removed by the mayor, or in the case of a county or regional authority, by the body or official which appointed the commissioner, for inefficiency, neglect of duty or misconduct in office. A commissioner shall be removed only after a hearing and after he has been given a copy of the charges at least ten (10) days prior to the hearing and has had an opportunity to be heard in person or by counsel. If any commissioner is removed, a record of the proceedings, together with the charges and findings thereon, shall be filed in the office of the clerk.

Source: WY Statutes (Official Site)URL: https://wyoleg.gov/statutes/compress/title15.pdfFetched: 10/4/2026