News
Putting GPET Funds to Good Use
We conclude our series on Human Trafficking Awareness and Prevention Month with a look at how a local nonprofit benefits from General Purpose Excise Tax Funds from the City of Sheridan. In April of 2025, the Sheridan City Council approved GPET service agreements with 17 local nonprofit agencies that applied for funds. In total, $484,500 was allocated to the various nonprofit agencies. One of those that received funding was Uprising, whose mission is to empower communities, volunteers and donors to confront human trafficking and exploitation through awareness education and outreach.
Uprising Executive Director Terri Markham on how they use their GPET allocation.
Markham explains how they approach the subject of human trafficking with elementary students.
Markham said they teach the elementary students to use the SCRAP acronym to look for red flags. SCRAP stands for secrets or threats, complimenting in excess, repeating, app jumping and photos and personal info.
Dennis Fox
January 24, 2026 at 2:25 pm
The best use of the Generally (mis)Purposed Excess Tax is to leave it in the hands of the tax-payer. Those who earned the money are the right ones to determine it’s “best use.”
And the best way to stop human trafficking is to close the Border. Done.
The next step is to root out the criminal invaders doing the trafficking and Deport them. In Progress.
Any so-called “good” that is done with the money collected by Forced-Taxation, is immediately wiped out by the act of using force to take money from hard-working citizens.
No “good” can come from the initial “bad” of forced-taxation.
Forced-Taxation should only be used for police, courts and basic infrastructure. All else is only legitimately funded by voluntary donations.