Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
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Nebraska doesn't get many national headlines about politics, but a recent, last-minute push by major Republicans to get the state to ditch its unique system of awarding electoral votes for president did just that. Former President Donald Trump and leading GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham were among those applying the pressure recently to return to a "winner-take-all" system. Only Nebraska and Maine don't give all of its electoral votes to the statewide winner of the popular vote for president. Instead, N...
PROCEEDINGS ANTELOPE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS Neligh, Nebraska Sept. 17, 2024 The clerk was completing a claim call. The Antelope County Board of Commissioners convened in special session on Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024, at 8:06 a.m., in the county commissioner’s meeting room, Antelope County Courthouse Annex, Neligh, Nebraska, for the purpose of a budget hearing. The meeting was called to order by board chairperson, Charlie Henery, with the following board members in attendance: Jacob, Dittrich, Krebs, Williby and Henery. Chairman stated t...
Another school bus will be added to the Summerland Public School fleet following action taken by the board of education when they met Sept. 11. According to transportation supervisor James Ramold, a new bus will need to be purchased in each of the next two years before the rotation can resume to a two-year cycle. Superintendent Molly Aschoff said, "After looking at bills, we've spent a lot of money of that bus of Tony's (Shrader)." Aschoff suggested purchasing a 2021 Freightliner for $93,350....
Ed. note: The print edition of SAM has the wrong amount for the anticipated budget. Instead of $16.1 million, the print edition reports $16.1 billion. The correct amount has been updated in this article. SAM regrets the error. Summerland Public School District will enter the 2024-2025 fiscal year with an anticipated budget of $16.1 million, which includes $11.825 million in the general fund, $3.25 million in the bond fund and just over $1 million in a special building fund. The total property ta...
The Legislature concluded the special session that was called to relieve property taxes on Aug. 20. After a contentious start, senators agreed to compromise on legislation that will frontload the Nebraska Property Tax Incentive Act credits from LB1107 (2020) directly onto taxpayer’s property tax statements, trim and adjust the state budget by $185 million and tighten existing property tax levy caps for counties, cities and villages to the greater of inflation or 0%. Of the 81 bills and 24 r...
State lawmakers have long since finished their long, 17-day special session in Lincoln and headed back home. The summer session unfolded as a lot of people, including me, expected - a lot of ideas for reducing property taxes were discussed, but only a small, incremental change, one that will result in a 3% drop in property taxes for some taxpayers, was passed. As we've discussed before, reducing property taxes, while a noble and needed move, is a complicated task and requires an adept hike...
This week, the Legislature took up the issues of property taxes and adjustments to the state budget. Much of the focus remained on the package crafted by the Revenue Committee and attached to LB34 by Senator Brewer in place of LB1 and LB9. In a long day of constant changes, LB34 was originally intended to resemble LB1 and LB9. During debate, several concerns were raised, including counties and municipalities who opposed the proposed caps, schools that were hesitant that the Legislature could...
PROCEEDINGS SUMMERLAND PUBLIC SCHOOL BOARD OF EDUCATION Monday, Aug. 12, 2024 Summerland Public School Board of Education met in regular session, Monday, Aug. 12. President Steve Thiele called the meeting, which was advertised in the Aug. 7, 2024, newspapers, to order at 7 p.m. President Thiele noted the Open Meetings Act posted in the boardroom. Roll call was taken. Present: Nate Schwager, Scott Thiele, Steve Thiele, Austin Twibell, Jeremy Wagner. Absent: Ed Nordby. Motion by Schwager, seconded by Wagner, to approve the absence of Ed Nordby...
Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen says he has no plans to call the Legislature back into special session this year to consider additional property tax relief after final passage Tuesday of a pared-down proposal. Rather than rush lawmakers back to Lincoln for more changes yet this year, as the governor discussed during bill negotiations, he said he would wait until the next regular session begins in January. He also repeated his stance that he does not expect to call a special session for shifting the...
As we all know, state legislators have been called back to Lincoln for a special session this summer to tackle the state's high property taxes. As has been written here before, good luck with that. It's easy to gripe about property taxes being too high; much more difficult to lower them without shifting the tax load onto someone else. But we need to talk about something that we also all gripe about – gasoline prices. I'm one of those guys who scans the countryside for the cheapest gas p...
This week, the Legislature convened for only two days, choosing to adjourn early after Sen. Linehan, chair of the Revenue Committee, requested additional time for the bill drafters to finalize amendments. The Legislature was previously scheduled to remain in session through Saturday, Aug. 10 but instead, resumed the session on Monday, Aug. 12. During this week’s session, senators and their staffs received a briefing from the Revenue Committee outlining their framework to try to deliver property tax relief. LB9, by Sen. Hughes, is the bill now i...
The Legislature’s General Affairs Committee took a half step Monday toward letting the public vote on the future of online sports betting in Nebraska. But the committee’s decision to punt a companion bill means any vote will likely wait until after the November election. The amended version of Legislative Resolution 3CA stopped short of letting voters decide the issue all at once. Instead, they would be asked to give the Legislature the constitutional authority to decide the issue. The amendment from State Sen. John Cavanaugh of Omaha, a Democr...
This week, the Legislature concluded bill introduction and public hearings in this special session. Generally, in a special session, few bills are introduced and public hearings are finished in a couple of days. In this special session, a total of 81 bills and 24 constitutional amendments were introduced during three days of bill introduction, the most proposed during any special session since 1937. The large number of introduced proposals required six days of public hearings. Speaker Arch...
Summer is usually a relaxing time in Lincoln. College students have left, state lawmakers have gone home, the weather gets hot, the backyard tomatoes get ripe, and the biggest debate around town is whether this is the year the Huskers become relevant again in football. Optimism always abounds in the pre-season, before the first kickoff. But not sure the same optimism accompanies the special session Gov. Jim Pillen has convened to address the state's traditionally high property taxes. Every...
As introduced, Gov. Jim Pillen’s core property tax relief proposal could fall short by $139 million in annual estimated revenue needed. Pillen’s main proposal, introduced through Legislative Bill 1 in the special session, includes placing a sales tax on more than 100 currently tax-exempt goods and services. It would also raise seven “sin” taxes, on candy and soft drinks, vapes, cigarettes, keno gambling, spirits, consumable hemp and games of skill. In total, the new or increased taxes would raise an estimated $1.15 billion in the first full fis...
As expected, the governor called the Legislature into special session on Wednesday, July 24 to enact legislation relating to property tax relief and school funding. The Legislature convened on Thursday, July 25. Deviating from the preannounced schedule, Speaker Arch chose to not bring the Legislature back into session on Saturday to allow the Revisor of Statutes’ Office more time to prepare new drafts of bills and constitutional amendments. The governor’s package is composed of three bills: LB1...
As you may have read or heard, Governor Pillen announced his intention to call the Legislature back in special session relating to property taxes beginning July 25 until “unfinished business” is resolved. On the last day of session, the Legislature did not take a final vote on the session’s property tax package since that bill’s introducer did not believe they had the votes necessary to overcome a filibuster. Since the Legislature adjourned, senators, including myself, have spent countless hours...
By the time you read this, state senators are expected to be trudging back to Lincoln for a special session on property tax relief. The word "trudging" reflects the general distaste senators have for special sessions, which disrupts the lives of these part-time, underpaid ($12,000 a year plus all you can eat and drink) lawmakers. Generally, special sessions are called to address emergencies, such as a court ruling that renders laws or taxes untenable, or an economic downturn that requires...
REGULAR PROCEEDINGS VILLAGE OF CLEARWATER BOARD OF TRUSTEES July 15, 2024 The Board of Trustees of the Village of Clearwater met for a regular meeting Monday, July 15, at 7 p.m., in the fire hall meeting room. Meeting opened at 7:02 p.m. Notice of meeting was given in advance by publication in Summerland Advocate-Messenger, was posted at US Post Office in Clearwater, Clearwater Market and Cornerstone Bank-Clearwater and was given to board members prior to meeting. Public was informed of location of Open Meeting Act poster. Present: Kelly...
Earlier this year, the governor and the Legislature tried and failed to develop a workable plan to reduce Nebraska property taxes through increases in sales taxes. Now, as decision-makers in Lincoln consider coming together in a special session, the options on the table still focus on using sales taxes to pay for cuts in property taxes. Why? Decisions made in the Legislature in 2023 shape what's possible now. In 2023, the Legislature used a historic budget surplus of $1.9 billion to cut income...
Back in the day, a small, "trial balloon" would be sent aloft to discern wind speed and direction before a balloon carrying people was launched. Folks were rightly concerned about rising into the heavens blindly, without knowing if a catastrophic whirlwind was aloft. Right now, we're seeing plenty of trial balloons sent aloft by Gov. Jim Pillen to determine if a plan to dramatically reduce local property taxes might have a shot at success during his special session, scheduled to start July 25....
Many have tried, and few have succeeded in expanding the state’s sales tax base by taxing things now exempt from taxation. But that is where Gov. Jim Pillen is venturing in his pursuit of property tax relief. His initial plan, which failed to win approval in the state Legislature this spring, would have imposed new taxes on a host of items that could be labeled “low-hanging fruit.” I mean who’s going to get upset if we start imposing taxes on edibles infused with hemp, those slot machine...
Let's face it, Nebraska has high property taxes, the seventh highest in the country according to the Tax Foundation, which tracks such things. "Lots of land, not a lot of people," has always been the catchphrase, which translates into a higher burden of property taxes. But I almost fell out of my chair when Gov. Jim Pillen proposed, initially, to raise the state's sales taxes by two cents to achieve property tax relief. Never did I imagine that a conservative Republican governor would propose a...
Orchard village trustees approved modifying a decision regarding painting at the community center when they met in regular session, May 14. At a May 2 special meeting, trustees approved a quote from Timmerman’s Painting, of O’Neill, in the amount of $7,061, for painting the gym, bathrooms, lobby, vestibule and heating, ventilation and air conditioning duct work at the community center. Following discussion on May 14, Tyson Schutt made a motion to modify the original motion to purchase paint fro...
On April 18, the Legislature completed its work for this 60-day legislative session. Although the last day is typically reserved for veto overrides and closing remarks, the Legislature also took action on 15 bills remaining on Final Reading. Notably, the governor’s proposed property tax package contained in LB388 stalled when it became clear that the bill did not have the votes to break a filibuster. LB388 was then passed over on the agenda at the request of the introducing senator, meaning t...
