Ord Talk

Valley County has had the largest increase in property taxes in the state of Nebraska this year, 17.6%. Why? A good place to start asking that question might be the county assessors office. Heres the number: 308-728-5081. Next, think what could have possibly raised taxes so high in so short an amount of time. Are we still trying to play catch up with the land and property values in Omaha? I don’t think so, we took care of the majority of that a year or two ago. In fact, on last report, Valley county was first on the list as to being in parity with the increases. Raising taxes in this county doesn’t seem to be a problem, we just gouge the taxpayer for a little more money.

On the other hand, those pesky unexpected taxes can be a real thorn in the side. Say when a business that gets a great number of tax breaks for locating in the area goes bust. Who pays for all those new services, road work and upgrades? That’s a no brainer, we do, the local taxpayer who didn’t really have a dog in the hunt to begin with. Those who made their money on the front end aren’t concerned, they’ve been paid. Those who purchased stocks and bonds are still trying to figure out the license plate of the truck that hit them, business as usual in good old Valley County.

Now, what happens when the school wants to issue a bond to “upgrade” and build a new gym. It will of course be couched in the language of “Its For the Children” and who can say no to that? Safety was the big issue in the recent school board election and if you have been to any meetings, it hasn’t come up once. A new school bond has though. They have invoked Obama and even FDR in the forlorn hope that govt. monies (read HIGHER TAXES HERE) will help fund the new project and even have someone on staff keeping an eye open for the expected handout.

What happens when under the new Obama Administration Medicare and Medicaid decrease payments to hospitals? On this same blog you will find articles concerning the decreases in these payments and the affect it will have on Critical Access Hospitals. These are not speculations, these are facts. You are not hearing this from the local media, nor will you until some of the institutions that buy full page ads and hourly spots on the radio are unable to pay for them. Then the eagle will scream.

Below you will find a link to the Lincoln Journal Star Article concerning property taxes in the State of Nebraska. Click on it and read the article, it is short but very much to the point and specifically targets the tax increase in Valley County. That little fact alone should do absolute wonders for the Economic Development Board and what little success they have had in bringing long term, financially stable businesses to the area. Just look at the county square and the vacant windows and empty buildings there if you want to know what the future holds for this county. Look at the decrease in the population of our towns and the falling enrollment of students in our schools. Look at the number of patients it takes for our hospital just to break even and then look at the real numbers of patients that come through the doors. Look at the number of beds in the old hospital in 1964 and then the number slated for the “newer, bigger and better” hospital now under construction. How many gyms and wading pools do we really need in this community? Wouldn’t we rather have private capital building new businesses as opposed to taxpayer funded failures that ensure certain citizens on the ground floor make a killing that the rest of us have to pay for?

Check out the link and read the story and for those of you who don’t have the gumption to call the County Assessor (308-728-5081), the business that cost us a 10% increase in our Property Taxes has to do with….nope, I can’t do it! Call the Assessor and find out for yourself, it will be an enlightening experience.

http://journalstar.com/articles/2009/01/13/news/nebraska/doc496cfcba8d483053483988.txt