Local Government Assistance Practicum

Goals 

Students successfully completing this course will:

• Understand the sources and limits of local government authority.

• Understand the interactions between federal, state and local governments in providing services to the public.

• Understand the sources of revenue available to local governments including property taxes, excise taxes and debt.

• Understand the role of local government in social and educational policies, as well as economic development.

Legal Experience

Students assist local government attorneys in Wyoming, Colorado and New Mexico in addressing various issues related to scope of local government authority, open meeting requirements, public record requests, revenue, licensing/ permitting, housing and water management. The work will include legal research and analysis.  Such analysis may be incorporated in draft memoranda, resolutions or ordinances.

Class Components

The course consists of three parts (total 150 hours): 

1. Classroom instruction regarding the law applicable to municipal and county governments. While the class will focus on Wyoming law, the class will also include examples from other Intermountain West states, such as Colorado and New Mexico.

2. Research and analysis of a particular subject for presentation in class.  

3. Project work for local government attorneys (including city attorneys in Cheyenne, Laramie and Gillette)

 

 

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Local Government Assistance Practicum 

Email: tcrawfo4@uwyo.edu