[{"_1":2,"_99":-5,"_100":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6490839,"mediaKeyId","5601342-a34ace2f4933b06e8d523f4f417af063","parentId",5601342,"title","Transit director says federal/state shortfalls could force cuts; commissioners tentatively back $120,000 county ask","audioSeconds",5524,"startMs",4129000,"endMs",9653000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5601342-a34ace2f4933b06e8d523f4f417af063&start=4129&end=9653","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5601342-a34ace2f4933b06e8d523f4f417af063/thumbnail_4129000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6490839/Scotts-Bluff-County/Nebraska/Transit-director-says-federalstate-shortfalls-could-force-cuts-commissioners-tentatively-back-120000-county-ask","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6490839-6c9ed4c18c339107c250a0cb8baa774d/orig.mp4?Expires=1771155673&Signature=Bz8XE5WfB6l6c6z881WTl7QfZ~DNMznc4tQGkRAsmHu9bgJecsOHaPaV4rxjlJiYL4AheorCQCSd7rB3yHV67EnFv9kUs6SBPCF7h41M0b4F4avuCsVJMLTYw6HYoZVHNM-dNeM5ByMeztDo2OgboXl8fweIeK~~pj6GWm8Lct1uWxoekZoZ89yV~-Yh66Hx-u9ZrpPfKDDA7Hel-~M8Vgc5hqkCFCWdoU8QkC5pNexteHX0U5vobAFlI-GurDUrScBUHT0wowL2brUN9nKhIAzSP76W2MKBWBqQ6TOfcyLqyvonjOXoKouq5C~YBPShtuDmNW0oLqC6ELR86LDYSw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Scotts Bluff County, NE","date","2025-08-19T15:53:26.087Z","article","The county’s transit director summarized this year’s operations, revenue pressures and budget adjustments and told commissioners he had reduced planned expenses in several categories while pushing to recover federal and state reimbursements.

The presenter, identified in the meeting as Charlie (transit staff), told the board he had cut “about $625,000” in planned federal- and state-funded items for the upcoming fiscal year because the agency could not reliably assume those funds would be available. Charlie said the agency’s reimbursement timing creates a cash-flow lag — typically two months — that forces the service to carry operating costs until state reimbursements arrive.

Charlie reported strong ridership growth in the most recent full year: 36,813 trips the prior year rose to 45,203 trips, which he described in the meeting as a record for the transit program. He said the program’s average monthly county contribution last year was about $16,414.73 and that the county contribution for the full fiscal year showed on his records as $194,683.04.

The director explained programmatic distinctions that affect reimbursement: certain nonoperating costs are reimbursed at a 90% rate and some operating costs carry different match percentages. He said the transit operation tries to code line items carefully so eligible expenses receive the higher nonoperating reimbursement rate. The director also described steps under way to reduce costs, negotiate higher broker rates for Medicaid trips and implement new scheduling software that could improve efficiency.

Commissioners signaled general support for a county tax ask in the low six figures that would stabilize transit operations if federal or state funds fail to materialize. One commissioner stated that, if the board set a tax-ask line of $120,000 for transit in the county budget, he was agreeable to that figure. The board did not adopt a final directive but concurred that staff should plan budgets on conservative revenue assumptions and present any grant or reimbursement changes when confirmed.

Charlie said he would provide detailed supporting numbers for reimbursements and capital requests and would notify the board when federal/state funding decisions were finalized. He warned that without restored federal reimbursements the department may have to cut hours, routes or staff.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Scotts Bluff County Commissioners Budget Workshop Wednesday, August 13th, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","The county transit director reported ridership growth and said he cut about $625,000 from planned federal/state-funded items pending reimbursement; he warned delayed reimbursements create cash-flow risk and asked the board to include a tax ask of around $120,000 to sustain operations.","taxTitle","Scotts Bluff County, Nebraska","taxId",69685,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6490858,"County reviews proposal to replace aging phone system; staff to audit telecom bills",1702,1443000,3145000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5601342-a34ace2f4933b06e8d523f4f417af063&start=1443&end=3145","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5601342-a34ace2f4933b06e8d523f4f417af063/thumbnail_1443000.jpg","/articles/6490858/Scotts-Bluff-County/Nebraska/County-reviews-proposal-to-replace-aging-phone-system-staff-to-audit-telecom-bills","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6490858-3d2b7e30123a3057def7ffa3c7088452/orig.mp4?Expires=1771155673&Signature=lw6RbEZYVNM2Hyknj8iUNdXy5SnMKvV2UvoCAO1IWxv43icsVAGRgN3lBhh4iHJxorH8rSELonY7iQjFXvj6pgIP~zWsfMuIEPGtWbdwU6osXtUMV1DnXBTXpXIOdoUU33Qg2qdmmZ-120OWn6Gf7H6JhqgekNilSRklsbKqOeqWN8MSZ2C7aYJ~goXf~sab7FRcBMrseijSw4F-eMyAY5Ij2tTFS5mkq4sZh9ZBuOyRoXQmUPKJnU7MrzH1sVx5kqoDmrKJ5bf1HKi4EduxaN8S5utIiVtHfFlCRo5U2NsIdMBkK7ZStT9UJ-3fhOUSqfG-SBV9tLBeA5qCq18D2g__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","County information-technology staff and vendors presented commissioners with options to replace a county phone system the county described as roughly 20 years old, and proposed moving to a cloud-hosted, subscription model.

An IT representative (identified in the meeting as a vendor contact) said the county’s likely subscription cost based on current vendor quotes was about $6,125 per month, or roughly $73,500 per year. The presenter told commissioners that switching to a cloud-hosted voice-over-Internet (VoIP) model would eliminate recurring costs the county currently pays for PRI lines and a support contract, which the presenter estimated at about $10,000 per year for support plus roughly $9,600 per year for PRI lines, producing roughly $20,000 in current savings. The net new subscription cost after those savings was described in the meeting as roughly $53,500 per year under the higher-end vendor quotes the presenter used for budgeting.

Staff and commissioners questioned how much of the county’s existing phones could be reused, whether some departments could use “soft” (software) phones on laptops or cell devices instead of desk phones, and whether Allo or other existing vendors were billing the county correctly. The vendor said a typical implementation would bill per-user licenses, and the county’s current active user count in the present ShoreTel system was described as “about 250.” The vendor said many suppliers now prefer subscription/cloud pricing and that one-time hardware costs were often included in subscription pricing or could be charged against capital budgets.

Commissioners and staff raised operational concerns: a cloud phone system would depend on Internet connectivity (Allo), so outages could disable voice services unless contingency plans were implemented; the vendor acknowledged that risk and said internet service would remain in place and that vendor/providers typically maintain availability guarantees but that the county would remain exposed to internet outages.

County staff asked the vendor to provide a more detailed cost breakdown and directed IT staff to ask Allo for the last 90 days of invoices so the county could compare current billed charges against proposed savings. The IT representative agreed to obtain invoices and produce a comparative analysis for commissioners in the coming weeks. Several commissioners requested more granular line-item cost comparisons that broke out which phones/functions require premium licenses and which users could work with lower-cost options.

No final procurement decision was made at the meeting; county staff said they would bring back a vendor comparison, an itemized savings estimate and clarified Allo billing details before the board considered any budget approval for a replacement system.","County IT and finance staff outlined a proposal to replace a 20-year-old on-premises phone system with a cloud subscription, with estimated gross vendor cost of about $6,125 per month (roughly $73,500 per year) and potential net increases after current savings; staff were directed to get detailed Allo invoices and vendor comparisons.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6490875,"Scotts Bluff County officials weigh tax ask, reserves and service cuts as budget talks continue",1264,104000,1368000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5601342-a34ace2f4933b06e8d523f4f417af063&start=104&end=1368","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5601342-a34ace2f4933b06e8d523f4f417af063/thumbnail_104000.jpg","/articles/6490875/Scotts-Bluff-County/Nebraska/Scotts-Bluff-County-officials-weigh-tax-ask-reserves-and-service-cuts-as-budget-talks-continue","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6490875-eff37eb802b1168ac21994ec5515b148/orig.mp4?Expires=1771155673&Signature=OKWNqFyIjISMon4tz-Jq3sX32HPHaElJGM1-yHGi~fdV9BYqlmI-NzIQ1fpGfKVJ5woNFjrAU~eUDzpSTd8Mtbi~mHrdvchmcQp7lyjy~~2jQneyyW5Xrc0xnkHeutzODbXNT~2lQnU1LXHT8IOT3Pn~1UzKInS9YrX0~pUfQeIxUxb4GTgKWuxjfzNthZFRddd-sQOcvXQZrMmVaKAVOs2Q7thunb6cp0L~zEX3hx~S6mwVSoYal5EOoez~GSjKQr3TaW6JDHVsDrNZ2fXSfiHYkoXTzcK1t5iGCBPUaIQrNgnQKX0KYgdXE3XDm4g-izzlZRwUGgrzHZzijPghWA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Scotts Bluff County finance staff gave commissioners a midyear budget briefing that showed a preliminary tax ask of roughly $17.12 million and a need to reduce that figure toward options presented at $15.06 million or $14.09 million.

Lisa (county finance staff) told the Board the current “tax ask” figure she was showing was $17,118,000 and walked commissioners through a worksheet that included a $709,053.60 line described in the meeting as prior-year unused property tax that could be applied this year, which staff said would move the county’s potential authority to roughly $15,000,006.50.

The presentation and ensuing discussion focused on two linked choices: whether to use one-time prior-year or reserve balances to lower the property tax ask this year, and how drawing down reserves would affect cash flow and risk. Lisa said the county’s general fund carryover target being discussed was about $2,800,000, and warned that using those reserves would leave the county starting the fiscal year with little or no cash on hand, while other speakers stressed the county’s need for some operating cushion given payment timing.

Commissioners pressed staff for clarity about the legal and audit consequences of applying prior-year unused tax authority. Lisa said she had contacted the state auditor’s office for guidance and would report back when staff had a written clarification.

Several commissioners stressed the timing mismatch between when the county budgets and when property tax receipts arrive. One commissioner noted payroll and recurring monthly obligations — discussed in the meeting as often totaling about $1.5 million a month — mean the county needs reserves to bridge receipt delays. Commissioners also discussed the auditor’s guidance that governments should keep roughly three to four months of expenses in reserve.

The board did not adopt a final levy at the meeting. Instead members discussed options for balancing the levy, reserves and service priorities and agreed to continue the budget review at follow-up public meetings. Staff were directed to return with clarifying guidance from the state auditor about the implications of applying prior-year unused property tax authority and with updated scenarios showing the impact to reserve balances and projected cash flow.

The meeting opened with a procedural motion to approve the agenda; a roll-call vote recorded Commissioners Meyer, Blue, Rasey and Harris as voting yes and the chair declared the motion carried.

The board set two additional public budget work sessions to continue the discussion (meeting publication and final dates to be confirmed by county staff).","County finance staff told commissioners the preliminary tax ask is about $17.12 million and that using prior-year unused taxes and reserves could change the levy; commissioners debated drawing reserves versus cutting spending and scheduled follow-up budget meetings.","actionData","errors"]

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Transit director says federal/state shortfalls could force cuts; commissioners tentatively back $120,000 county ask

County reviews proposal to replace aging phone system; staff to audit telecom bills

Scotts Bluff County officials weigh tax ask, reserves and service cuts as budget talks continue