General Elections: Basin Town Council

Jennifer Riley 

   Bio:

Jennifer Sue Riley (born July 25, 1979) Born and Raised in Greybull. Graduated high school in 1997 and went into the workforce into the service industry. Became a single mother in the year 2000 to a beautiful baby girl (Jazmyne). I worked several customer service jobs along the way to make a good life for my daughter.

Met the love of my life (Wayne), a little later in life. We have six children and four grandchildren (so far), between the two of us, and looking forward to more.

Most of my time is spent at our Rec Hall here in town but I love to rockhound and love to go for drives in my free time. I’m a Republican with an open mind who just wants what’s best for everyone.

What do you believe are the top issues facing your town?

I believe one of our top issues lies with wanting our little town to grow. Some of the people I’ve talked with don’t want a growth change and others do want it. I believe that if we don’t have growth, then eventually our town will die. Businesses can’t survive without people and money. No businesses = No jobs. We need growth to survive and I for one want our town to flourish.

With the changes in property taxes, the monies coming into the towns is making for tighter budgets. What would be your priorities with a potentially limited budget?

Unfortunately with limited budgets, that means not everyone will be happy. But priorities exist for a reason.

1: Public Safety - Maintaining Essentials - Police - Fire - Ambulance

2: Water - Sewer - Power. Utilities are a must.

These would be top of my list; then I would look into research in cost-cutting or revenue enhancing tactics while also looking into Basic Infrastructure - focusing on town repairs and ways to fix problem areas.

What is your stance on government transparency including public notices, open meetings, public records and communication with the press? How do you hope to keep the public in the loop?

I believe government transparency doesn’t happen to the extent everyone wishes it to be, but I also believe the public should be aware of anything having to do with them as long as it doesn’t cause a panic. There are many ways to get the word out to the public of issues warranted. Radio, newspapers, social media and of course word of mouth. I think if we work together then everyone can be involved one way or another and keep our town great.

How do you plan to weigh decisions that will benefit your personal businesses or goals from those that will benefit the town overall?

My husband and I own businesses in this town, and we don’t always do what’s right for us or our business. We make sure our customers are happy and taken care of.

I plan on keeping that way of thinking and will put my constituents and their needs first no matter what.

Michael Tanner

Bio

Hello, my name is Michael Tanner, I’ve held quite a few different licenses over the years; from real estate to life insurance sales, I even got a certificate for dealing blackjack.  I went to technical school right out of high school for certification in network administration.  I spent a fair amount of time working with cousins and uncles in their construction companies whenever I was in between jobs in the technical or sales industry.  Regarding party affiliation I’m a registered Republican. I’ve lived in Wyoming since August 21, 2023, and in Basin since about October 1, 2023. 

What do you believe are the top issues facing your town? 

I believe one of the top issues is our shrinking population. If this trend persists, future generations–including my kids–will struggle to find viable jobs and raise their own families here. As I see it, this issue leads to kids leaving the area as soon as they’re able which just exacerbates the problem but they don’t seem to have a tangible reason to stick around as there are very limited options for making a living that would support a family with the prices for property and everything else being what they are.  

With the changes in property taxes, the monies coming into the towns is making for tighter budgets. What would be your priorities with a potentially limited budget?

With tighter budgets from state tax changes, my priorities with a potentially limited budget would be safeguarding core services like public safety, roads, and utilities through careful stewardship and efficiency. I would advocate for partnerships with Big Horn County and pursuing state resources as much as possible as well as encouraging volunteer and church-based support for anything the government should be keeping their nose out of but still needs addressing. We have to live within our means as a town. 

What is your stance on government transparency including public notices, open meetings, public records and communication with the press? How do you hope to keep the public in the loop? 

When it comes to government transparency my stance is that everything should be available to be viewed by the public.  The town council may not make decisions that I would make and I’m free to disagree with their conclusions but if I want something different then it’s on me to put forth the effort to do something about it, not just complain about it. I’d love to make a live stream available to the public so that those who can’t make the meetings can be involved and see what’s going on in real time; I’d also like to streamline the minutes and make it more readily accessible to the public. 

How do you plan to weigh decisions that will benefit your personal businesses or goals from those that will benefit the town overall?

My plan for weighing decisions that could benefit my personal business or goals vs those that will benefit the town overall is this: I will always put the town’s overall benefit first, guided by biblical principles of integrity and stewardship. I will disclose any potential conflicts and recuse myself as needed. My personal goals align with a thriving Basin: safe streets, strong families, and fiscal prudence that respects taxpayers.

Stuart DesRosier

Bio 

My name is Stuart DesRosier, I have a degree in Political Science from the University of Montana. At the same time I was awarded a commission In the U.S.Army serving both actively and in the National Guard for 13 years.. I later received a degree in Social Science Broad Field  education. I moved to Wyoming in the summer of 1998. In 2008 I received a master’s degree in Educational Administration. 

I have been employed at Bighorn School District .#4 as a social studies teacher at both the middle and high school levels. In addition to my teaching duties I am also the middle school football coach, the National Honor Society Coordinator, the Academic Challenge coach, lead teacher of Riverside High School and Boy’s State coordinator. I have tried to serve the Basin community by previously being an EMT and am currently the Assistant Chief of the Basin Fire Department

What do you believe are the top issues facing your town? 

There are several issues facing the Town of Basin. We need to continue the upkeep and improvement of the infrastructure; particularly water,sewer and electricity grid.  I have previously served on the Basin Town Council and would like to continue the gains made during that time. My priorities in spending the limited budgets would be on those same three issues.

What is your stance on government transparency including public notices, open meetings, public records and communication with the press? How do you hope to keep the public in the loop?

My views on governmental transparency is that it is vital for our system to have public participation.  To facilitate that,showing the public what their elected officials are doing is crucial. Holding the elected accountable is the basis of our republic..I encourage everyone to attend and participate governmental meetings and stay informed on the decisions made.