Sen. Brandt, Commissioner Schoenrock Testify At Legislature

By Gordon HopkinsSenator Tom Brandt, District 32, and Jefferson County Commissioner Mark Schoenrock testified in support of two bills at the Nebraska Legislature Thursday afternoon, January 25, 2024, in front of the Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee. LB 940LB (Legislative Bill) 940, would permit county support of non-profits, such as Hope Crisis Center in Fairbury. Schoenrock told FJN prior to the hearing, “Our own Carmen Hinman (Executive Director of Hope Crisis Center) and Senators (Myron) Dorn and (Tom) Brandt have led the efforts on this legislation, and we as Jefferson County commissioners and NACO (Nebraska Association of County Officials) are proud to support it. Senator Dorn, District 30, told the committee, “Simply put, the bill permits, it does not require, a county to enter into agreements with nonprofit organizations that provide services for sexual assault victims and domestic abuse survivors. It is permissive. It grants a statutory authority for a county to make these payments if they so choose.” The bill was introduced after an audit in Gage County. Dorn said, “The State Auditor reviewed payments made to a nonprofit organization who provided services to survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence. The auditor raised the issue that state statute does not specifically state these types of payments can be made.”Dorn said, “This Hope Crisis is based out of Fairbury, who handles several counties down there. They reached out to me.”Jeff Schreier, an auditor manager for the Nebraska Auditor of Public Accounts (APA), also spoke in support of the bill on behalf of Auditor Mike Foley, “To start I would like to point out that the APA tries to avoid taking a position on policy matters unless of course a particular issue has a direct impact upon our operations.” Schreier said, “The APA support is not based on policy whether or not it’s a good idea to pursue this particular course of action. Again, that is not for us to decide. Rather, our support is in recognition of the fact that a political subdivision is taking proper action with the assistance of Senator Dorn to acquire clear statutory authority to expend public funds on something that is deemed important to its community.”Also speaking on behalf of the bill were John Cannon, Executive Director of NACO, and Christon MacTaggart, Executive Director of the Nebraska Coalition to End Sexual and Domestic Violence. The committee also received 23 letters in support. There was no opposition. LB 938The other, LB 938 was introduced by Senator Brandt and would change provisions of the County Purchasing Act. The changes would increase the thresholds relating to county purchases and the selling of surplus property and obsolete mobile equipment.According to Senator Brandt, the increase threshold would give counties increased flexibility in disposing of surplus property. Brandt noted that a county can just accept an offer for mobile equipment if it is below the threshold, “Otherwise, I believe that the sheriff has to have a sheriff sale. You got to have three bidders there and, you know, this just streamlines things.”Brandt gave an example, “Basically, you’ve got an old dump truck or something sitting there in the weeds and somebody comes in and makes you an offer on it. It’s within this range and then your commissioners or your County Highway superintendent can just sell the equipment. This would allow a county not to cancel a public auction, where only one or two people show up when three are required. This proposal also outlines circumstances under which competitive bidding may be waived.”Commissioner Schoenrock also testified on behalf of the bill, “The proposed legislation makes other adjustments as well. This will greatly aid the administration of county government. Please support this needed legislation.”Others also spoke in support of the bill, including Fillmore County Supervisor Wade Sluka. There was no opposition.

Jefferson County Officials Honored

Gage County Meetings

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