The Broken Bow City Council held its final budget hearing and approved several measures to adopt the budget into action during two meetings starting at 4:30 PM Tuesday September 23 at the Broken Bow Municipal Building.
During the initial hearing on the 2025 – 2026 Appropriation Bill, Bob Meyer of accounting firm RJ Meyer and Associates, LLC in North Platte provided a detailed review of the City’s budget submission to the State of Nebraska.
Overall, the city plans a property tax ask of $1,141,541.39 from a tax levy of .390946. This will allow the city to budget for total expenditures of $25,164,819.17 in the 2025-2026 fiscal year.
Meyer took pains to point out that this overall expenditure number did not necessarily represent how much the City would in-fact spend in the upcoming fiscal year. Rather the number presented a best-estimate of expenditures, allowing reasonable space for unforeseen expenses or emergencies.
Additionally, it was noted in the meeting that the tax ask for this year is the same amount as requested in the prior fiscal year. Recent increases in property valuations allowed the council to reduce its tax rate from 10% from 0.433432 in 2024-2025 and still collect the same amount as last year.
City Administrator Dave Schmidt told the Council that there had been some adjustments made in the budget before it was finalized to account for pay cost of living and minimum wage increases to salaries for city employees, as well as needed storm water drainage evaluations. Schmidt noted no additional funds were required for the later items, as money for depreciation funds were reallocated to cover those costs.
Following the presentation by Meyer, Broken Bow Mayor Rod Sonnichsen requested comments from the public on the budget. With no comments provided, the hearing was closed, and the regular City Council Meeting started.
During the regular City Council meeting, the board heard and approved 5 ordinances required to set taxes and funding for the upcoming year. For each of these ordinances, a public hearing was announced, and votes taken by the council for approval.
The ordinances were to approve the 2025 – 2026 Annual Appropriation Bill; to Set the Final Property Tax Request for 2025 – 2026; the 2025 – 2026 Wage Ordinance, including the afore-mentioned cost of living increases; the One and Six Year Street Plan; and a resolution approving investment of surplus funds in a Certificate of Deposit at Nebraska State Bank.
Schmidt noted that the One and Six Year Street Plan do not lock the city into any particular actions, as described by Street Superintendent Steve Parr in a prior council meeting. The excess funds being invested are a result of insurance payments related to last February’s power station explosion. Schmidt indicated that as work to replace the station is unlikely to begin in the next few months, holding those funds in a CD seemed prudent.
Ending the meeting, Sonnichsen again thanked the city administration, staff and department heads for their work putting together what he viewed as a great budget. Meyer, whose firm put the City’s budget into the State-required forms said that he viewed the financial state of the City as being in good shape.
The next meeting of the Broken Bow City Council is scheduled for October 14, at 6:00 PM in the Broken Bow Municipal Building.
