Mayors From Many Nebraska Communities Oppose Governor’s Property Tax Relief Plan
LINCOLN–(KFOR July 26)–As more bill introduction continues in the Nebraska Legislature toward a proposed property tax relief plan from Governor Jim Pillen, Lincoln Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird shared her thoughts on KFOR Friday morning about the plan and how it could impact the city.
“This is not a game for us,” Mayor Gaylor Baird said. “We are working hard to make sure that when people call 911, we can get there quickly. We have new fire stations, new police substations, that we are building new roads and we are building new housing.”
Pillen’s plan includes a 50% cut in property taxes and puts a hard cap on tax collections.
“When you cap our (local government) ability to spend revenue at zero percent, that stymies growth,” Gaylor Baird said. “When you also cap the amount of sales tax dollars that will comeback to cities, then we’re taking a double hit.”
Mayors from other communities in Nebraska that oppose the property tax plan are echoing the same thing as Gaylor Baird. The coalition of those mayors from communities like Bellevue, Gretna, Hastings and Kearney say the only way to achieve a long-term property tax solution is to consider both valuation and control of growth. They argued Pillen’s plan does not delay the implementation of any potential property tax changes so that they do not impact 2025 budgets.
They claim that any alterations to how property taxes are calculated or how local government bodies create their budgets would have a significant impact as changes would be made when the budgets are nearly finalized.
A second point the group says is that the plan lacks clarity and does not define a feasible public safety exclusion or exemption. They said the plan should include language that safeguards the ability of political subdivisions to meet essential operational and capital expenditure requirements for services like police, fire, emergency medical services, corrections and emergency communications. Finally, the plan does not include ways to replace any lost revenue.
Bill introduction by Nebraska lawmakers is expected to continue into Monday.