BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Nebraska lawmakers are working to close a budget shortfall of over $100 million, and one proposal could pull funding from first class cities — communities with populations between 5,000 and 100,000 people — leaving some to consider cuts to police staffing, higher property taxes, and increased fees for residents.
LB1027 is the bill, and KMTV has worked to cover multiple lawmakers, organizations and neighbors involved.
The City of Schuyler said it was initially expecting to lose nearly $1 million under the proposal. City officials said police departments are among the first areas to feel the impact when municipal funding is reduced.
Lora Johnson of the City of Schuyler said.
"Our police chief has been looking at his staffing so we might be able to make some adjustments that way."
Johnson said raising the city's tax levy was considered, but would not have covered the full loss. She also mentioned that the city works hard to keep that levy lower than the maximum currently allowed by the state.
"We could've raised out levy higher but it wouldn't have made up for that whole million dollars."
Johnson said another option would be increasing existing fees for city services.
"We have fees for building permits dog fine fees, pool to get into the pool, just different services we provide."
After recent amendments to the proposed bill, the amount Schuyler could lose has been reduced to approximately $60,000. But at the state capitol, advocates for smaller communities say the broader math still raises concerns.
Lynn Rex, executive director of the League of Nebraska Municipalities, said.
"The projections will show that it's only going to be about a five to ten percent cut but it is a grave concern because we understand how important property tax and property tax cuts are in the state of Nebraska."
Rex said the state has been reducing funds for villages and first and second class cities for decades, and warned that the remaining fund is worth protecting.
The overall state budget is due on Governor Pillen's desk on March 25.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
