How A Municipal LandBank Is Funded

By Gordon HopkinsThe initial budget for the recently formed South Jefferson Land Bank is $150,100.The Fairbury City Council voted to enter into an agreement with the Village of Endicott to partner in a Municipal Land Bank (MLB), on Tuesday, January 2, 2024.Fairbury contributed $150,000 towards the budget and Endicott the other $100. A land bank is an entity created by a municipality which generally allows for the acquisition, maintenance, development, and disposition of real property for the purpose of returning it to productive use. The Nebraska Municipal Land Bank Act, Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 18-3401 et seq. (Act), was first passed in 2013, applicable primarily to Omaha and Lincoln, and subsequently amended in 2020, expanding application to the remaining classes of municipalities. For any municipality other than Omaha or Lincoln, the creation of an MLB requires the cooperation of at least two municipalities through an interlocal agreement.According to Fairbury City Attorney Kurth Brashear, the land bank does not have to pay taxes on any land while it is in possession of the land bank. Once the property is transferred to another owner, the land bank will receive 50 percent of property taxes for the next five years. That money will go toward funding the land bank. The improvement and rehabilitation of property has been a top priority of Fairbury Mayor Spencer Brown’s administration. However, some people have expressed concerns about the possibility of the city competing with citizens for property. One of those people is Fairbury City Councilperson Bradley Kuzelka, the only member of the council to vote against forming the land bank. Kuzelka responded to a recent social media post about the land bank, “the land bank will have much deeper pockets than most people.”Kuzelka posted, “land bank has access to grants i.e. tax dollars. If the bank wants a property and you want a property they will get it. Using your own money against you.” Mayor Brown responded, “you really overlook 1 (one) thing. The board members, these are people in your community, this isn’t some bank in California. The people making decisions live here, work here and are or have raised a family here. They want the best for Fairbury.”

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