January 10, 2024 - NACO Executive Director Comments on Governor's Property Tax Reform Proposal
January 10, 2024
NACO Executive Director Comments on Governor’s Property Tax Reform Proposal
Lincoln, NE - The Nebraska Association of County Officials (NACO) appreciates Governor Pillen leading the charge for property tax relief in our state. While county property taxes account for only one-sixth of the property tax load in the state, counties are involved in every step of the property tax process, and are sensitive to the burdens our citizens bear, but also mindful of the services they expect from their local government.
We agree with the Governor that true, effective reform requires current state property tax relief efforts to be provided directly to political subdivisions to lower their starting point when determining their property tax requests. We further agree that any caps, which can help make the property tax more predictable in the aggregate, must include reasonable exceptions, including allowing communities to grow commensurate to their needs, and requires a commitment on the part of the State to provide a sustainable source of direct relief that grows in concert with the costs of local government.
We agree that the more the State can provide in direct relief, the more impactful it will be for Nebraska property owners. How the necessary revenue of the State and its political subdivisions is raised is still the subject of a lot of open dialogue, and NACO applauds the Governor for assembling stakeholders to move this ball forward. Determining the right level of service we provide to the citizenry is one of the fundamental questions of what government is for, and NACO has been and will be a willing partner in that conversation.
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The Nebraska Association of County Officials (NACO) is a non-profit organization that serves to represent the interests of all elected and appointed county officials in the state. NACO was organized in 1894 and is composed of 93 member counties. The association's membership includes, serves and represents all 15 offices within county government.
