The town of Edgerton has no desire to bolt from Natrona County and join with other small towns in the region to form a new county, Mayor Buck King says.

Responding to reports about a petition drive promoting creation of a new Powder River County, King said his town is quite happy being part of Natrona County, thank you.

"We don't feel we're getting that bum of a deal from the county," King said. "We have no interest in doing this."

A group in the Kaycee area of southern Johnson County is seeking signatures for a petition that calls for Kaycee to join with Midwest, Edgerton, Wright and other small communities in southern Johnson and Campbell counties and northern Natrona County to create a new Powder River County.

While some people in Kaycee and Wright have expressed frustration that their communities don't receive enough services or resources from their county governments based in Buffalo and Gillette, respectively, that's not the case in Edgerton, King said.

"We have a good working relationship with our county commission, and it's getting better all the time," he said. "Years ago, we did have some problems with the county, but we've been able to work things out. It seems to be an equitable arrangement."

King said elected officials from Edgerton, Midwest, Mills and Evansville meet monthly with the Natrona County Commission to talk about issues of concern.

Only the state Legislature has the authority to create a new county. The last time a new county was created in Wyoming was 1921.