Sarpy County Board of Equalization reviews Neighborhood Community Pantry tax-exemption timing, extends homestead hearing deadline

The Sarpy County Board of Equalization discussed a permissive tax-exemption request from Neighborhood Community Pantry and clarified that, under Nebraska filing deadlines and Department of Revenue policy, the county lacked authority to exempt the property for the 2024 tax year.

Andrea Gosnell Parker, Valuation Division lead in the assessor’s office, told commissioners the pantry closed on its property on Dec. 30, 2024, and submitted an exemption form that referenced 2024. Because statutory deadlines for 2024 had passed, the assessor’s office processed the form as an application for 2025, and the pantry was approved for a 2025 exemption. Parker said state law and Nebraska Department of Revenue guidance treat property taxes as paid in arrears, with valuations set as of Jan. 1 and the levy set in October, and that the county cannot abate taxes or waive the statutory deadlines for permissive exemptions.

The pantry’s president, Andrea Powers, told the board the group had not been able to meet a statutory deadline because it closed on Dec. 30 and that the pantry now faces roughly $13,000 in tax, interest and late fees related to 2024. Powers said the pantry relied on the purchase agreement language used locally in Sarpy and Douglas counties and that its closing and payment arrangements left it unable to qualify for a 2024 exemption. She asked whether the county could provide financial relief; county staff and commissioners said there are no statutory mechanisms to abate the tax or to administratively waive the filing deadline.

Commissioners and staff discussed how the Omaha-area uniform purchase agreement allocates tax obligations and noted that the Board of Realtors drafted the form language that differs from many other Nebraska counties. Commissioners said the uniform language and state filing rules can create outcomes where an incoming buyer, even a nonprofit, ends up responsible for a prior year’s taxes. Several commissioners urged the pantry to review its purchase agreement and to pursue private remedies, including asking the seller or the Board of Realtors for assistance. County staff said the pantry may submit a separate 2024 application and asked whether the board wanted to process a late application; staff warned that if the board granted relief it could be appealed to the Tax Equalization and Review Commission (TERC) and that past similar requests had been overturned at the state level.

On procedural matters, the board voted to extend the filing deadline in a separate homestead-exemption protest hearing. Commissioner Kelly Burmeister moved to extend the deadline for the homestead exemption matter to July 20; the motion was seconded by Commissioner Don (last name not specified in the transcript) and carried on an affirmative vote of five to zero. The board also approved a notice of valuation change putting a parcel into greenbelt status by voice vote.