Governor’s Tax Agenda Raises Concerns At County Level

By Gordon HopkinsNebraska Governor Jim Pillen has made cutting property taxes a top priority of his administration. However, a number of county officials have expressed concern that, in his zeal to reduce taxes, the governor may not be giving the impact such cuts could have on county governments enough consideration. A press conference held by Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen on Monday, December 4, 2023, to discuss school districts and property taxes turned into a more general conversation about taxes. The matter was discussed the next day at a meeting of Jefferson County Commissioners.County Commissioner Mark Schoenrock said, “The Nebraska Association of County Officials (NACO), in conjunction with other entities here in the state, we are working as part of a tax working group. The governor’s office is very intricately involved with that, to find solutions to the property tax issue. One of the points that our organization has made repeatedly with Governor Pillen is that it does take revenue to conduct the essential services to our citizens that county government provides. We can’t just cut the revenue because our citizens depend on those services and it does take the revenue to provide those services and we try to do that in a very prudent manner. So, that work continues.”Commissioner Michael Dux asked, “Does the governor understand that?”“I don’t think we’re there yet,” responded Schoenrock. “All he wants to do is cut, cut, cut, and I don’t think he really has the appreciation yet for those key services that county government provides.”Inheritance Tax On Friday, February 11, 2022, the Nebraska Legislature passed a bill into law intended to cut inheritance tax rates and increase exemptions. After the bill was passed, Jefferson County Commissioner Gale Pohlmann expressed concern that it would not be the last cut, “The main thing is they don’t come back next year and try to take another bite!”Pillen has expressed a desire to see the inheritance tax eliminated entirely.The problem for many rural counties is that they depend on that money to operate. Many local officials are concerned that, by reducing or eliminating this source of revenue, they would then be forced to raise tax levies.This concern led commissioner Schoenrock to send a letter to Nebraska senators, in which he noted, “When I campaigned for re-election last year, I knocked over a thousand doors in my district and the overwhelming response from my constituents was that although they would like to see taxes reduced or eliminated, they do not want the essential services provided by county government reduced or eliminated. Road and infrastructure maintenance, law enforcement, ambulance service and many other essential services provided by county government are of vital importance to our citizens and they do not want them cut.”“I discuss this issue with many county officials from across Nebraska, and I believe that our experience here in Jefferson County is fairly representative across the state,” Schoenrock added.To support his position, Schoenrock presented the senators with some data.According to Schoenrock’s figures, over the past five years, the average annual inheritance tax revenue for Jefferson County has been $619,482. The average county valuation has been $1,894,360,641. A one cent on the levy would average $189,436.Schoenrock wrote, “Dividing our average annual inheritance tax revenue of $619,482 by the average levy of $189,426 equals 3.27 cents on our levy for which we did not have to levy for property tax.”Schoenrock also pointed out that the costs of our equipment, parts, supplies, labor and benefit packages have all increased significantly in recent years, “We are the level of government were the rubber hits the road and we see and talk with our constituents every day. Our voters are your voters. I believe we maintain efficient operations, and that there is little if any inefficiency to cut.”

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