On August 15th, 2008, the Hall County Board voted four-three regarding the issue of property tax increase of .3 tenth of a cent. That is about half of what the Hall County Agriculture Organization petition for, but Treasurer Duane Donaldson commented that it is a good compromise because the state fair will still receive another half million from county keno dollars. Donaldson commented that the property tax increase was their only avenue or way that they could find enough funding to fix the infrastructure located on the Hall County Fair grounds.
The $1 million state fair commitment comes a day after the county cut $1 million from the county budget. That includes $24,000 for a new dispatcher. City finance director Dave Springer commented that the county normally agrees to pay half of the Grand Island/Hall County Emergency Management Department's budget. He said that without a new dispatcher, they will likely have additional overtime and he just hopes that they will not miss any calls.
Hall County Board Supervisor Pam Lancaster opposed the property tax increase but commented that it all boils down to compromise. Lancaster also believes that increasing taxes will only add to the financial burden that people are already struggling to deal with because of the weak economy. She said that she fully supports the state fair but wanted the $1 million to come solely from keno dollars.
But Donaldson said that the Ag Society did not have other options either; a tax increase is their main option to pay for the facilities. Jay Vavricek, a local state fair committee member said that they cannot wait much longer.
[07-09]
Louis Blechdom
