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Scotts Bluff County budget workshop spotlights roads, bridges and levy limits
Summary
County commissioners and staff reviewed road and bridge spending, equipment needs and property-tax limits; staff warned using certain exceptions could reduce future levy authority and will return with updated growth numbers.
Scotts Bluff County commissioners and county staff met in a budget workshop to review Road and Bridge and weed-control budgets, discuss capital projects and equipment needs, and to examine the county's calculations for property-tax limits and the state's "pink postcard" notice.
County staff member Lisa told commissioners the county's current computations place the county's property-tax ask above the state's postcard threshold. "If we wanna stay out of pink postcard, we cannot increase over 14,500,000.0 (property tax ask)," Lisa said, adding that some growth and inflation figures remain estimates until the assessor and state figures are final. She said the county could use limited exceptions (for example, prior-year unused property-tax authority or approved bonds) to increase levying authority, but cautioned that using those exceptions can reduce future authority because those amounts enter next year's calculations.
Roads and Bridge Superintendent Steve detailed a multiyear program of chip seal, asphalt repairs and bridge and pipe work. He said this year's chip-seal program covered roughly 20 miles and praised the local crew and contractors for quick work. Projects discussed for next year included County Road P, a paving and concrete approach at a feedlot entrance, milling and patching on 40 Second Street, and several culvert and small-bridge replacements. Steve also called out several heavy-equipment and vehicle needs: replacement pickups, a dump truck that may need a new engine, and an industrial tractor that was rented recently and proved efficient on a bridge repair.
Steve described the county's need to carry cash into July to meet payroll and to cover upcoming chip-seal oil bills: "We need to carry over $500,000 a year or we can't pay July bills," he said. He also said the county's highway allocation has declined from recently budgeted levels, which he and staff said contributes to pressure on the road budget.
On bridges, commissioners and staff discussed the Cook Oil bridge (design approved and planned as a concrete box), other concrete-slab replacements and the county's federal "buyback" funds. Lisa said the federal buyback receipts (federal highway and bridge distributions) typically arrive in March and are restricted to highway/bridge uses. She and Steve discussed options to delay or reschedule large projects as one tool to reduce near-term tax asks.
Weed-control staff and commissioners reviewed staffing and revenue for the weed program. Steve and Lisa said the county is not planning to resume commercial spraying for private customers and will focus on county-required noxious-weed control and fee-for-service certifications (weed-free inspections) as an optional revenue source. Steve announced a personnel hire: "Julie Walker is her name," and staff said she will start Tuesday.
No final levy change was adopted; staff said they will update levy calculations once assessor growth figures are available (Lisa said the assessor's real-growth number should be available by Aug. 20). Commissioners asked departments to identify where they could reduce requests if the county must lower its tax ask to meet state thresholds.
The meeting opened with a roll call and the pledge of allegiance; commissioners approved the meeting agenda by voice vote prior to beginning budget work.
