Part of state surplus should go to farmers

Conservative government has paid off for Nebraska, with the state on track to have a record $542 million-plus in reserves by late June.

It's no wonder, then, that 100 farmers who were promised $9 million earlier this month -- payment for water they had the rights to but didn't use -- would like a piece of that pie.

The money was supposed to come from bonds backed up by taxes on property in the Republican River basin, as well as a fee on irrigated land, to free up the water to meet Nebraska's obligation under the three state river compact.

That money's tied up by a lawsuit, filed by the "Friends of the River," that challenges the constitutionality of using a local property tax to meet what the plaintiffs say is a state obligation.

The Nebraska Supreme Court refused to accept original jurisdiction in the lawsuit, and sent it back to a district court, and more months of delay.

As an NRD official said, the farmers are not looking for a handout, just "interim financing," until the lawsuit is settled.

But that would send the wrong signal, said Gov. Dave Heineman, and the real problem is the lawsuit that disrupted a fragile system that would send more water to Kansas without crippling farmers.

Wrong. The real problem is LB701, which throws a state burden on local taxpayers while failing to generate enough results to head off more legal action by Kansas.

The state should divert some of that cash surplus toward those Republican River farmers.

If the "Friends of the River" lawsuit is successful, it will serve as a small downpayment on the state's long-term obligation.