Lancaster County Commissioners, trying to keep a lid on their property tax rate, will likely give County Engineer Pam Dingman $1 million more to spend on county roads and bridges next year, far less than Dingman says she needs.
“The bottom line is Lancaster County can’t afford this,†board chair Todd Wiltgen said about Dingman’s budget request.
Dingman's request would require an increase in the tax rate. "I can't justify this to the taxpayers," he said.Ìý
Dingman, who was seeking an additional $5.4 million in local tax dollars, said she will focus on maintenance and postpone several proposed paving projects for another year. Â
"We have to maintain what we have," she said.
Several commissioners pointed to the need to replace bridges and to pave gravel roads in high-traffic areas and suggested the county look for other ways to help pay for roads.
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“This discussion is the result of years and years of not levying enough to do repairs. We have also refused to look at options outside of property taxes,†said Commissioner Jennifer Brinkman.
Brinkman said she has heard from constituents about projects on the county engineer’s list and suggested commissioners create a working group that would identify funding options. Ideas could include issuing bonds for bridge and road construction, and a county wheel tax.
But Commissioner Deb Schorr said she has heard from constituents about high property taxes. With the county reassessment of residential property and the higher-than-normal increase in total property values, now is the time to reduce the county tax levy and reduce the strain on property taxes, Schorr said.
If the commission accepts the engineer’s $5.4 million increase request “it will blow up the budget,†and add 2 cents (per $100 in valuation) to the county’s property tax levy, said Commissioner Bill Avery.
The budget plan and commissioners' discussion Thursday highlighted the tension between road and bridge needs in rural Lancaster County and the desire of the majority of the board to maintain or reduce the county property tax rate.
This conflict is historic, going back 100 years, Dingman said.
It's time for county commissioners and the engineer to work together on finding solutions, said Dingman. "The infrastructure is bad; it’s old and it’s no one’s fault. We need to come up with a way to fund it,†she said.
Several commissioners pointed out that Dingman has not spent all the money they gave her in the 2016-17 budget.
But Dingman explained part of the money is being saved for several important projects, including funding for shoulders and intersections on Saltillo Road.Ìý
In addition, the state Department of Transportation told the county to delay replacing the Raymond Road bridge until next year because the state wanted to use Raymond Road as a detour route while it repairs bridges and overlay on Nebraska 79.
With a $1 million increase in local funds next year, Dingman said she will focus on maintenance and eliminate three of the four proposed paving projects.Ìý
The department will likely begin work on South 98th Street from Old Cheney Road to A Street, a road that sees an average of 720 cars a day. But the county will only be able to pave two of the three miles, Dingman said.Ìý
Commissioner Roma Admundson pointed out that the county’s tax levy (currently 27.53 cents per $100 in assessed value) represents just 13 percent of the total property tax bill for Lincoln residents.
The engineer’s budget is the largest of any county agency, though much of it is state and federal funds. About 40 percent of Dingman’s current $33.4 million budget is from property taxes.