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Letter to the editor
Dear Editor:
I strongly encourage the residents of Aurora to consider the facts surrounding Resolution 24-05 when voting on May 14, and be leery of vague promises, half-truths, and fear of what “could be.”
Resolution 24-05 will institute a 1.5 percent sales tax on city purchases such as utilities (except water and internet), online purchases (except groceries), vehicle purchases (regardless of where purchased), home goods, building materials, etc. It also gives the city the authority to spend an additional $1,000,000 of tax revenue, be it from sales tax or property tax. More importantly, the broad strokes painted with the resolution do not allocate the new revenues nor give it an end date. While that allows the city to appropriate as it deems necessary, it does not require them to lower property taxes, provide new amenities, or invest in economic development. It is a blank check to spend tens of millions of local taxpayer dollars over the coming decades.
One justification that has been presented is that other communities our size have a sales tax, so why doesn’t Aurora? Aurora is unique in that compared to communities our size, we continue to experience above-average economic development growth, which continues to add to the tax base and utility revenues, at the same time adding jobs in our community. The quality jobs and demand for homes has resulted in our assessed values nearly 50 percent higher than comparable rural communities in Nebraska. This is a good thing, as we are able to broaden the property tax base while keeping our levy competitive.
Other communities do not do this at the same pace and are not able to rely on those projects to add to their communities’ revenues. Other communities also do not benefit from an extremely robust philanthropic non-profit foundation system, which for Aurora offsets costs to the taxpayers through their continued support of community projects (Bremer Center, Poco Creek, Four Plex baseball fields, The Youth Center, Leadership Center, Edgerton Center, 12th Street Cinema, the building of the Frank M. Farr Senior Center and Alice M. Farr Library). These foundations often partner with the economic development vehicles for Hamilton County, including Aurora Development Corporation and Aurora Housing Development Corporation, to maintain a steady stream of growth of enterprises and housing developments, which again adds to the tax revenue received by the city. In other communities, most if not all of this is funded through the city and taxpayer dollars.
In comparing Aurora to other communities, you must look at both sides. Per the city’s latest financial audit, Aurora pays $329 per capita for EMS and $270 per capita for police services while the other 32 similarly sized cities pay $70 per capita and $225 per capita, respectively. As a community, we want these services and have continued to invest in these services because Aurora is unique in its stance that this is important to our community and worth the taxpayer investment. You can’t make the argument that we need to “be like everyone else” if you’re not going to adopt that mindset for all facets of comparison. Aurora is unique in many ways and that is a good thing.
When this resolution was placed on the ballot during the Feb. 13, 2024 city council meeting, the main stated purpose was to reduce property taxes, a “tax shift,” with four additional areas also stated in the resolution. In fact, the mayor is quoted as saying “What you’re really asking is are we trying to increase the number of dollars available to the community to spend by the city council. We’re not asking for that. Just by virtue of the rules of the legislature, a 2-1/2 percent increase is the maximum growth you can have in restricted funds, so that isn’t even a feasible alternative. If you’re asking to grow, it’s not possible. It’s called a tax shift, I believe that’s the governor’s words, so you are either for or against a tax shift. We’re not talking about raising the revenue.”
However, that sentiment changed when the actual resolution was signed, increasing the growth the city will have in restricted funds by $1,000,000. By doing so, it appears that the city intends to take in more revenue than the $1,300,000 in sales tax, allowing them to spend as they wish. It appears the city has big plans for this influx of cash, some of which “may” go to reducing property taxes.
This new tax is coming from you and me, the residents of this community. A majority of the tax will not come from visitors; we just don’t have the volume of visitors that will make it any other way. Ninety percent of the sales at Love’s are non-taxable. The amount of out-of-town shopping and restaurant spending will only add up to 10-15 percent of the total sales. The other 85-90 percent, or over $1,000,000 of the new $1,300,000 tax revenues will fall on us. That equates to roughly $550-650 per household in new taxes.
Lastly, it saddens me that this topic has become so divisive in our community. As this has waged on, people have become increasingly brazen in their responses to whatever side opposes their stance. I knew this would happen and I pleaded with the city council to table putting the resolution on the ballot until consensus could be built amongst the members of the community. That plea was disregarded. I would hope that once past this, we can start rebuilding those relationships, start working together as an actual team with mutual respect and the continued growth of our community in mind.
With that said, if resolution No. 24-05 fails on May 14th, and it is determined that additional taxpayer dollars are needed to continue to grow our community, my door is open for anyone who would like to come up with a more viable plan.
Please join me in voting NO to Resolution No. 24-05 on May 14.
Jannelle Seim,
Aurora
