Teton County Renews Lobbyist Contract to Protect Affordable Housing Fees

Teton County is raising its monthly payment for a dedicated lobbyist to $10,000, a move that highlights the county’s unique and often contentious battle over housing affordability.

The Teton County Commission voted Tuesday to renew the contract for Nick Agopian, increasing his rate from $9,000 to $10,000 per month, Cowboy State Daily reported. Agopian has been representing the county before the Wyoming Legislature since 2024.

This expenditure distinguishes Teton from every other county in Wyoming. While most local governments rely on the Wyoming County Commission Association to represent their general interests, Teton maintains its own registered lobbyist to protect specific local programs that are frequently targeted by state lawmakers.

“Well, Teton County has our own mix of challenges, and framed in our own way,” Commission Chair Mark Newcomb told Cowboy State Daily during a Thursday phone interview. “I think housing is probably no. 1 on the list. We want to make sure we are always poised to meet that with all of our local programs.”

The fight over mitigation fees

At the heart of this political tug-of-war are housing mitigation fees. These are charges levied on home builders that local governments use to subsidize price-capped and affordable housing for the workforce living in the region.

To many in the Wyoming Legislature, these fees represent government overreach. For example, in 2021, Sen. Bo Biteman, R-Ranchester, successfully championed legislation that prevented cities from requiring homeowner contributions to affordable housing as a condition for sewer access.

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Critics argue these fees function as an unconstitutional tax or an infringement on property rights. House Appropriations Chair John Bear, R-Gillette, introduced an amendment in 2025 and a bill in 2026 to ban these fees entirely, characterizing them as a violation of the Fifth Amendment’s protection against the government “taking” property without just compensation.

“I feel sorry for these rich people. Maybe if they’d pay a living wage,” State Rep. Steve Johnson, R-Cheyenne, said during a floor debate regarding the ban on housing mitigation fees.

Johnson suggested that if the market were left to self-correct, residents might face costs as high as $500 an hour, but argued that such economic burdens should not fall on the public.

The tension between local control and state authority has also manifested in the courtroom. In 2025, Trey and Shelby Scharp sued the county, alleging that fees tied to a home upgrade constituted government “extortion.” The lawsuit ended early after the county stated it had “miscalculated” the fee in question.

Protecting the workforce housing stool

For Teton officials, the cost of a lobbyist is a defensive investment. The county uses these fees to maintain a delicate ecosystem that allows service workers and daily-grind employees to live near their jobs in an area dominated by extreme wealth.

Newcomb acknowledged that $10,000 a month is a steep figure, but he views it as a way to safeguard much larger sums of money.

“But (Agopian) is good at his job, and in the long run, paying him to preserve what, over the years, can amount to a couple million dollars in mitigation fees makes it worth it for the workers of our county,” Newcomb said.

Newcomb described housing mitigation fees as just “one leg of the stool” that supports the region’s affordable housing efforts, adding, “but still part of that stool, and we want to protect it.”

The debate is also shifting geographically. While the struggle over exactions and funding was once considered a “Jackson issue,” former Democratic lawmaker Andy Schwartz told Cowboy State Daily that interest in these funding methods is spreading to other areas, including Cheyenne and Laramie.

The political landscape in Wyoming is currently in flux. Several key figures who have led the charge against mitigation fees, including Bear and Johnson, are not returning to the Legislature after losing their primary election challenges. This leaves a vacuum of experience as novice lawmakers prepare to take their seats in January.

“We’ll see what happens this year. I know it’ll probably come back,” Newcomb said regarding the potential for new legislation aimed at restricting local housing programs.

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