Sales tax hearing set for August

The McCook City Council briefly discussed the city sales tax Monday night but took no action on whether it would be placed on the November ballot.

Instead, another public hearing was set for Aug. 6, 7 p.m. at the Senior Center and the council heard from a concerned citizen who questioned the need for another tax.

Carol Samway of McCook asked if now was the best time to ask for more taxes from the community. The tax burden on Southwest Nebraska is becoming increasingly high, she said, with no end in sight. She pointed to the new levy that the Republican Basin NRDs will impose on the area, up to 10 cents per $100 valuation, and the new water treatment plant that increased water bills and effects of the drought.

She stated she wasn't against the sales tax, but "somewhere along the line enough is enough."

"It's not a bottomless pit," she said, referring to tax payers pockets.

Councilman Marty Conroy agreed with her on one point. The new tax the NRD will assess on residents will result in $289,000 leaving the county to help out irrigators, if the full 10 cents is applied, he said.

But City Manager Kurt Fritsch pointed out that one half of the city sales tax goes toward property tax relief. To eliminate the tax would make property taxes jump, he said. In addition, the sales tax is shared by the regional shoppers who come to McCook.

That's unfair to those outside city limits, Samway replied.

Fritsch disputed that assessment. Those who come to McCook to shop use plenty of city services that still have to be paid for, he said, such as streets, parks, police and fire departments.

"The city needs to keep up with what they provide," he maintained.

Samway also took issue with the elimination of the sunset clause. The council has considered ballot language that would eliminating a termination date when the issue goes before the voters.

Government entities should be held responsible for funds they receive, she said, and a sunset clause is way to do that.

But without a sunset clause, the city will be able to bond for larger projects, Fritsch said, such as the construction of a new city hall, a building for the police and/or fire department or park expansion.

"We continue to lose business," Fritsch said, citing competition against cities along U.S. Interstate I-80. Bonding would allow growth for the city, which in turn would attract young people who want to re-locate here but can't find the jobs to do so.

The top projects earmarked by the 61 people who attended the Town Hall and Rotary Club sales tax meetings were: demolition of dilapidated /abandoned residential and business buildings; LB840, the Nebraska legislation which allots a portion of a 1.5 cent sales tax to economic development and city signage and monuments.

The 1-cent sales tax will sunset in 2008 and council must set a voting date and ballot language at least 90 days in advance.