Gage County Board of Equalization approves state-audited tax corrections, tests electronic voting

The Gage County Board of Equalization voted Wednesday to approve tax correction slips numbered 13 through 66 following state audits of homestead exemptions and ran a trial of new electronic voting pads that experienced registration problems.

The votes came during a brief session called to order at 8:34 a.m.; the chair noted the Open Meetings Act on the wall and read the attendance list. A staff member explained the tax corrections were the result of state audits of homestead exemptions and that most adjustments were increases. “On those homestead exemptions, on every back page on those have to be income tax reported by the individual,” the staff member said, adding audits covered return years into 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025.

The staff member also emphasized the county’s fiscal exposure is limited: “The homestead exemptions do not come off the tax roll. They’re subsidized by the state,” the staff member said, characterizing the corrections as administrative adjustments that are neutral to county and taxing-agency revenues.

Why it matters: the corrections reflect state review of homestead exemptions and adjust property tax rolls administratively rather than shifting costs to the county. The board’s action finalizes the state-recommended adjustments cited by staff.

The meeting included several procedural votes. The agenda was moved and seconded and approved; the minutes of the previous meeting were approved on a separate motion. For the tax corrections, the motion to approve slips 13 through 66 was moved by Adam and seconded by Haxby; the chair recorded a 7‑in‑favor tally and said the motion carried.

Members also tested new electronic voting pads. The chair and several members discussed troubleshooting after some devices failed to register votes reliably and one member’s vote did not appear to count; the board agreed to run both the traditional method and the electronic system as a trial and to continue troubleshooting between meetings.

The chair adjourned the equalization portion of the meeting at 8:40 a.m.

Votes at a glance: agenda approval (motion moved by Dawn; seconded by Clay Baugh) — approved; minutes approval (moved by Dorn; seconded by Jurgens) — approved; tax correction slips 13–66 (moved by Adam; seconded by Haxby) — approved, 7 in favor.

The meeting transcript contains the state audit references and the staff explanation of how homestead exemptions are processed; no public comments on equalization were recorded.