The Holt County Board of Supervisors voted to adopt the county’s fiscal year 2025–26 budget and set the county’s property tax request at $11,750,000 during its Sept. 16 meeting in O’Neill. The board also voted to exceed restricted funds authority for 2025–26 by an additional 1 percent and to certify the tax request to the State Auditor.

The budget covers the fiscal year July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026, and was introduced by the budget-making authority to the board on Aug. 29, 2025. The board passed Resolution No. 2025-16 adopting the budget and authorizing the offices, departments and activities to expend the amounts appropriated for the fiscal year.

The board separately passed Resolution No. 2025-17 under Nebraska Revised Statutes 77-1632 and 77-1633 to set the county’s property tax request. The resolution states the county’s total assessed value differs from last year’s total assessed value by 17 percent, notes that a tax rate of 0.261255 per $100 of assessed value would raise the same amount as last year, and records the county’s proposed tax rate of 0.285558 per $100 of assessed value. The resolution directs that a copy be certified and forwarded to the State Auditor on or before Oct. 20, 2025.

Both resolutions passed unanimously. Resolution No. 2025-16 was introduced by Supervisor Don Breiner and seconded by Supervisor Kyle Neiman; Resolution No. 2025-17 was introduced by Supervisor Mark Paxton and seconded by Supervisor Neiman. Voting aye on both were Supervisors Linquist, Neiman, Breiner, Paxton, Frahm, Treptow and Tielke; voting nay: none.

Why it matters: Adopting the budget and setting the tax request determine Holt County’s spending authority and the amount it will seek from property owners next year. Exceeding restricted funds authority by 1 percent is an explicit authorization the board approved within the budget resolution.

Background: The actions were taken at a regularly scheduled meeting publicized under Section 84-1411 R.R.S. 1943. The budget document and message were provided to the board on Aug. 29, 2025, per the meeting record. The board treated the budget adoption and tax request as separate resolutions and voted on each in turn.

Next steps: The resolution requires certification to the Nebraska State Auditor by Oct. 20, 2025, and the board’s approved tax request will be used to compute the county’s tax rate for the coming tax year.