Whenever it comes to delivering on property tax relief for the good, hardworking citizens of Nebraska, governmental entities with tax asking authority always seem to find ways to shut it down, and that is exactly what is happening in Nebraska again this year. Today I would like to inform you about how the Nebraska Department of Education is undermining the Legislature’s efforts to provide property owners with some much-needed property tax relief this year.
Earlier his year Sen.Tom Briese of Albion introduced LB 589, which became known as the School District Property Tax Limitation Act. The Legislature amended this Act into LB 243, passed the bill, and Governor Pillen signed it into law on May 31, 2023. LB 243 put a cap on each school district’s revenue growth. This was done with the intention of giving property owners some much-needed property tax relief. However, a provision in the bill allows school districts to exceed their property tax authority whenever 70 percent of the school board members agree to do so.
Because school districts all across Nebraska will soon have their revenue growth capped, they are becoming nervous about the future. As a result, Bryce Wilson, a fiscal analyst for the Nebraska Department of Education, has begun suggesting to superintendents and business managers across the State to consider this provision in the bill. As a result, some school boards have begun the process of allowing them to use the unused property tax authority granted to them under LB 243.
