Alliance residents will head to the polls next Tuesday, Nov. 13 and vote on whether or not to extend the current one-and-a-half cent city sales tax for another ten years.
There will be two questions on the ballot. The first question asks whether the first one cent of the tax should be retained, with 100 percent of the revenue collected used for property tax relief.
Alliance Mayor Dan Kusek says if the tax passes, the first one cent will continue to fund the city budget, just as it has the past five years.
“In our just adopted fiscal year 2008 budget, we anticipate using $950,000 in sales tax revenue in general fund operations,” he said. “The property tax portion is $800,000. As you can see, we use more sales tax money to fund our budget than property tax. If we eliminate the sales tax, we would have to make it up in the form of property taxes, if we were to continue offering the same services.”
When Alliance residents approved the sales tax in 2001, it was for a period of seven years. It will sunset in 2009, unless the 10-year extension is approved. Kusek says extending it for 10 years rather than seven is more attractive to bonding companies for the capital improvement projects, such as multi-million dollar street improvements.
The second ballot question asks whether an additional half-cent tax be collected. The revenue would be used for economic development and capital improvement projects. PREMA general manager Ryan Reiber says the sales tax money earmarked for economic development has paid dividends. He sites the Western Nebraska Community College Powerline School as an example.
“That school is up and running with its second class due in large part to the economic development earmarked from the sales tax,” he said. “The school has been a great boost to the electric utilities in the region that are losing employees via retirement.”
The Box Butte Development Corporation has gone on record supporting the sales tax extension. So far, there has been no organized opposition to the tax.
When the tax was initially approved in 2001, 2,125 people voted, which equated to a 31 percent voter turnout. 84 percent said yes to the first one cent (property tax relief) proposal, while 70 percent voted yes for the added half-cent, earmarked for economic development and the construction of the Big Blue Bay swimming pool.
Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday. Votes will be cast at the Burkholder Education Center at Sixth and Black Hills. You can still vote early by picking up your ballot from the County Election office located on the second floor of the courthouse. Early ballots must be returned by 7 p.m. Tuesday. And this reminder the courthouse will be closed Monday for Veteran's Day.
County Clerk Cheryl McDuffie says, as of 9 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 8th, 133 early ballots have been taken out with several already returned.
