Ogallala proposes $1.83 million tax request as city, county cover EMS shortfall; half-cent sales tax eyed

Steve Grama, president of the Ogallala City Council, told a joint public hearing that the city's property-tax request is $1,825,327.55 and that the proposed tax rate would be 0.38 per $100 of assessed value. "Based on the proposed property tax request and changes in other revenue, the total operating budget of the city of Ogallala will exceed last year's budget by point 04%," Grama said.

Grama said city and county leaders are facing a large budget pressure from local emergency medical services. "The operational cost for the ambulance based on our budget is about $2,000,000. We generate about 700,000 revenue coming in. So that leaves 1,300,000 that the city and the county still have to pick up," he said, explaining why the budget conversation extended beyond standard municipal services.

City officials also described a larger loss of state and federal funding. Grama said the city lost more than $10,000,000 in expected federal and state funds that had supported capital projects; the loss forced the postponement of airport and wastewater-treatment projects and led to cuts in some programs. Officials said they reduced council-proposed spending by about $650,000 and identified roughly $250,000 in additional revenue to close a previously larger gap.

Wastewater and consent order: city staff said the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy had required additional engineering work on the wastewater system. An engineering analysis initially identified about $35,000,000 in recommended improvements; council staff said they had scaled that list down to roughly $11,000,000 and said the city needs at least $9,000,000 to address the most critical items. Officials warned the state could impose a consent decree and force corrective work if the city does not fund needed repairs.

Sales tax ballot: council members discussed a previously failed half-cent (0.5%) local sales tax ballot measure the city floated in a prior election. Grama said that a half-cent sales tax would generate an estimated $750,000 annually and that officials prefer capturing revenue from out-of-town visitors rather than raising property taxes on residents. Council members said they are considering putting the measure on a future general-election ballot and will weigh messaging and legal limits on campaign communications before formally proceeding.

Other details: Grama encouraged residents to review the city's state budget filing and the city working document online; he also noted that water and sewer operate as enterprise funds and do not use property-tax revenue. The city plans to continue reviewing line items and may pursue targeted bond or grant funding for carryover projects such as the Second Street project.

Contacts and documents: Grama said residents could request the state budget document from the city website and contact the city at kevin.wilkins@ogallala-ne.gov or by phone at (308) 284-6001 for more information.