Jefferson County Tax Levy Increase Looms

By Gordon HopkinsJefferson County residents are likely to see an increase in their tax levy. A public hearing was held Tuesday morning, September 13, 2022, to discuss the 2022-2023 budget. It was then that county commissioners said the expected tax levy increase would be 4.66 percent.Property taxes are an especially contentious issue in Nebraska and commissioners have struggled with the budget for several weeks. As previously reported by FJN, ongoing inflation as well as supply chain issues have put a strain on the county budget.In addition, the workforce shortage that is plague both public and private sectors has necessitated the raising of wages in order to attract and retain employees. Earlier this year, employees of the Sheriff’s Office were given raises after the signing of a new union contract.Commission chairman Mark Schoenrock said, “Each of us, the commissioners, have had extensive discussions with many of our residents. We've asked them, ‘What would you like to cut?’ Because the cost of everything, as you're well aware, has increased dramatically. The cost of labor, the cost of our benefits package, the cost of our equipment, parts services, we could go down the line, all of those things have increased an average of 10 to 12 percent.”Commissioners made very clear they had exactly two options: raise the tax levy or cut services.“We seriously considered all alternatives. We've talked to many of our citizens. And the challenge that we have is that people do not want to cut any levels of service,” said Schoenrock. “They don't want to cut the level of law enforcement. They don't want to cut the level of ambulance service. They don't want less gravel on the roads. They don't want less, they don't want their roads maintained less frequently. They don't want to have the treasurer's office closed one or two days a week. There are a number of things that this board could do to cut services to the county.”A primary expense for either a private business or a government is staff. Some individuals have suggested reducing the number of hours local government offices are open. Commissioners said they looked into that option and found it untenable.Commissioner Dux indicated staff for the courthouse is already stretched thin, “Look at the courthouse. They have their own responsibilities. They have things they'd have to get into the state, like reports. And we discussed, as Mark said, with each office. There's no way they can get by with less time in their office, and less people in their office, to get everything done that they have to get done. There's no way they can get everything done with a reduction in staff. One office in the courthouse said they don't have enough staff. They can't take more than a couple of days off at a time for vacation.”Commissioner Gale Pohlmann concurred, “They'll never get all the things done that need to get done.”The new budget is not official, yet. There is one more public hearing scheduled for Monday, September 26, to be held at the 4-H building in the Jefferson County Fairgrounds, beginning at 6:30 p.m. This will give the public one more opportunity for input before the proposed budget is adopted.

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