County schedules June 16 budget-amendment hearing after J13 Enterprises flags accounting mismatches

Banner County commissioners agreed May 5 to schedule a budget-amendment hearing for June 16 following a financial review by J13 Enterprises.

Caleb Johnson of J13 Enterprises joined the meeting by conference call and said he has identified account mismatches in the county’s records that should be corrected through an amendment. “Don’t panic when I say that,” Johnson told the board, saying the issues should be resolved by realigning accounts and that the amendment would allow the county to publish both the old and proposed budgets as required. He proposed June 16 at 9:30 a.m. for the amendment hearing so the work can be handled during a regular meeting.

Commissioners instructed staff to coordinate the public notice; Johnson said he would assist with publishing requirements and communications to the Western Nebraska Observer. He also walked the board through an approach for distributing preliminary budget worksheets in May and collecting them by mid-June to reduce last-minute changes.

In addition to the immediate amendment, Johnson briefed the board on state legislation to watch next year — including LB 1219, which he described as a potential new limitation on property-tax growth — and urged commissioners to monitor bills that could affect county revenue. The board agreed to the June 16 date and asked staff to run the public notice and provide supporting materials in advance.

Next steps: county staff will post the required public notices, J13 Enterprises will coordinate with the paper, and the board will hold the amendment hearing on June 16 at 9:30 a.m.