Six area towns to vote on tax issues

Voters don't usually take lightly the decision to allow their government to raise their taxes.

And on Tuesday, six Central Nebraska communities will vote on just that.

Three of those communities are voting on new city sales taxes, two are deciding on levy overrides for their local school districts and one is voting on an economic development plan for sales tax money.

Here's a look at each issue on Tuesday's ballot:



Aurora

Funds from Aurora's proposed 1-percent sales tax would help implement the city's recreation plan, which has sat dormant for lack of funds since it was created two years ago.

The plan was the result of a study that found problems with the town's baseball and soccer fields, decades-old swimming pool and deteriorating tennis courts.

The $400,000 per year from the tax could pay for a new pool, a baseball field complex or new soccer fields, said Sue Mitchell, chairwoman of Friends of Recreation, the group that introduced the measure.

A mayor-appointed committee would direct the funds' disbursement with impact from city officials and the public.

The tax would initially last four years -- not enough time to implement the entire plan, Mitchell said.

But Mitchell said she hopes at that point the community sees the impact the money has made and gives it another OK.

"It'll help the overall appeal of the community," Mitchell said. "We're lagging behind in parks and recreation."



Wood River

Wood River's last attempt at a city sales tax failed, 163-106, just two years ago.

The city didn't specify a purpose for the tax, and that's what irked voters like Lee Nielsen.

"Essentially, it was just, ’Send us the money and we'll get it spent,'" said Nielsen, now a member of the city council.

Nielsen's now a staunch supporter of the 1-percent tax, because he helped ensure that 40 percent of its proceeds would go toward property tax relief and the other 60 percent toward improvements to the city's parks and streets.

Nielsen said the city would like to improve downtown streets and add equipment and trees to its parks, and its leaders feel they need another source of revenue to provide funds for those projects.

"There's a lot of things people would like to have done to the parks, and with real estate taxes, it's just hard to do too much with everything else that needs to be done," he said.



St. Edward

Udine Sindelar hopes that a 1-percent city sales tax can jump-start the newly formed St. Edward Economic Development Corp.

Sindelar, president of the group and a former city council member, said the group formed within the past year to try to help the town and its school system thrive.

"This town -- I hate to say this -- has sat on its heels for too long," she said. "There's too many things that need to be done."

Sindelar said the group has 26 people interested in being members and is open to everyone's development ideas.

One of the group's priorities, however, will be housing. St. Edward has plenty of lots, but many of those have houses that need to be demolished, Sindelar said.

She hopes to give the lots away to families moving into town who would build houses.

The city council would use some of the sales tax money for infrastructure, and Sindelar hopes to get about half of the $40,000 to $50,000 per year that it's expected to generate. The group would supplement that money by fundraising.



Albion

Albion residents will not be voting on a sales tax on Tuesday, but rather on plans to use the tax.

At issue on the ballot is the renewal of the 10-year plan of the Albion Economic Development Corp. The plan would be funded by one-quarter of the city's 1-percent sales tax.

The vote would not affect the tax itself, but only where it is allocated, said City Administrator Andrew Devine.

The group has received one-quarter of the city's sales tax since 1998. A vote for the plan would continue that arrangement, while a vote against it would likely move the money into public works, Devine said.

"It's pretty straightforward," he said. "We just want to continue the plan we've got in place, and that's to promote community development in the city of Albion."



Broken Bow

Broken Bow public schools' elementary school bond issue may have drawn most of the controversy, but the district will be seeking a levy override Tuesday as well.

School board member Kevin Cooksley said the measure is intended to build up the district's cash reserves to provide a buffer zone for budgeting.

The district's reserves have fluctuated between $600,000 and $1 million over the past few years, and Cooksley said it should be near $2.5 million.

Though the resolution on the ballot calls for a 30-cent levy override, that figure includes 15 cents in bonds that are already being paid for outside the $1.05 levy. The net increase in the levy would be 15 cents per $100 in taxable valuation, Cooksley said.

He said the money is necessary to give the district the breathing room to weather fluctuating state aid.

"It's taking all the cash we can leverage under the (levy) lid to run our operations," he said. "We don't have any money left to build up cash reserves."



Giltner

Giltner public schools will ask the district's residents to renew a 25-cent levy override for another five years on Tuesday.

The district has had the override in place for two years. Superintendent John Poppert said the money it generates makes up about a fifth of the school's budget and is essential for the school's operating costs.

The measure will also ask for an override of the state's lid on annual increases of budget expenditures so that the levy override funds can be spent on rapidly rising expenses, Poppert said.

He said he expects the issue to pass by a wide margin.

"We just have a great little school, and our people really like it that way," he said.







Albion

Tax type: Economic development plan for sales tax

Tax amount: 1/4 percent

Length: 10 years

What it's for: Extension of economic development plan

Amount expected to generate: $60,000 to $65,000/yr.



Aurora

Tax type: Sales tax

Tax amount: 1 percent

Length: Four years

What it's for: Recreation improvements

Amount expected to generate: $400,000/yr.



Broken Bow

Tax type: School levy override

Tax amount: 15 additional cents per $100

Length: Three years

What it's for: Cash reserves

Amount expected to generate: $546,000/yr.



Giltner

Tax type: School levy override

Tax amount: 25 cents per $100

Length: Five years

What it's for: Operating costs

Amount expected to generate: $250,000 to $300,000/yr.



St. Edward

Tax type: Sales tax

Tax amount: 1 percent

Length: Perpetual

What it's for: Economic development, infrastructure

Amount expected to generate: $40,000 to $50,000/yr.



Wood River

Tax type: Sales tax

Tax amount: 1 percent

Length: Perpetual

What it's for: Property tax relief, streets and parks

Amount expected to generate: $50,000 to $80,000/yr.