Dodge County residents of the Fremont Public School District began receiving their Notice Of Tax Increase postcards today. The Tax Request for 2021 is not correct.
The corresponding increase reflected on the postcard is also not correct. The postcard reflects property taxes for the general fund and special building fund leaving out the bond funds. The 2022 estimated taxes on the postcard correctly utilized all funds – inflating the estimated increase column.
LB644 (2022) requires all taxing subdivisions which are proposing to exceed 2% plus allowable growth (based on real property valuation growth certified by the county) to participate in a joint public hearing with other taxing entities in the county. Public notice is to precede the hearing with a postcard outlining the proposed property tax increase. Postcards require specific information per LB644.
“Property tax requests and calculation of the corresponding tax levy rates are very technical in nature,” stated Mark Shepard superintendent of schools. “We literally spend hours calculating and recalculating our property tax request, the assessed valuations related to each request and ultimately the tax levy rate. Our Board of Education requests exactly what is necessary to fund our operations and meet our outstanding Bond obligations. Mistakes such as this, although correctible, add to the public distrust of taxing entities and should not happen.”
The time and location of the public hearing were also published in error – stating that the hearing would take place Sept. 26 at the Burt County Courthouse. The Dodge County public hearing will take place at 6 p.m. Sept. 27 at the Educational Service Unit No. 2 building, 2320 N Colorado Avenue in Fremont.
Debbie Churchill, Dodge County Assessor, is working with Vanguard and NACO (Nebraska Association of County Officials) to reprint and mail corrected postcards.
“The school district’s overall budget is decreasing, due in part to the utilization of Federal Funds provided as part of the stimulus package. The district’s operating fund – the General fund is increasing 1.64%. The tax levy the Board of Education will consider at their special meeting on September 28 will maintain a levy very close to the district’s 2021 levy of $1.223,” FPS associate superintendent Brad Dahl said. “This is the message that was shared publicly on Sept. 12
during a budget / levy update as part of the Board of Education meeting.”
To view the presentation materials, go to: fremonttigers.org.
FPS was notified late last week that postcards in Douglas County were sent out to the wrong addresses in some cases.
“FPS has prided itself on being open with the public and presenting information in an understandable way. The intention of LB644 was to add a layer of transparency to the budget / levy setting process – unfortunately it has added to the confusion,” Shepard said.
