Extra revenue to be directed towards new housing projects
Giltner residents will decide May 14 if they want to approve a 1 percent municipal sales tax in Giltner, which was proposed by the village board as a means of generating revenue to help fund housing infrastructure.
According to village board chairman, Cody Nuss, the idea for the housing project came about from a suggestion made by a local resident.
“We had an opportunity where somebody in our community had situated it where a piece of property could not really be donated to the town, but could be used for future growth,” Nuss explained.
The village board is eyeing a plot of land previously used as farm ground on the west side of South H road near Giltner Public Schools.
“They were thinking that it might be a good area for a developer to come in and maybe plot out some housing,” he stated. “So we took that challenge on and said, ‘Yeah, this sounds like something we could be interested in.”’
The proposition for using sales tax revenues to help fund housing infrastructure was suggested after the board became aware of the costs involved.
“It’s pretty costly to start doing your sewer, your water, electrical undergrounds, those sort of things,” Nuss said. “We had a rural economic team come in just to give some ideas and one of the major ideas they were talking about was, and this is something a lot of towns have, they have that little tax on everything there.”
With the sales tax representing a new change for the village, Nuss indicated that the sales tax revenues to be put into the project would benefit the community.
“I know a lot of towns are up to 2 percent, even up to 3 percent,” he commented. “We didn’t go full on, we just wanted to get an introductory to everybody. To let them know that this isn’t just money that’s going into the town coffers, but it’s actually aimed at creating more housing so we can get more families moved in, people upgraded in their homes or however it works out.”
While the village board works on plans for potential housing, Nuss said the money gained from the sales tax would primarily be put towards the project.
“As of right now, that’s our main focus,” Nuss stated. “However, it could be used for any project that maybe pops up in the future.”
An example Nuss provided was the board’s recent preliminary water study, where the village had awarded a contract to Miller and Associates to build a pipeline that will transport drinking water from Grand Island.
“That’s no cost to us at all at this point, but down the road if there’s something that does cost, maybe that’s a major improvement that we can use that money for,” he said. “As of right now, it should specifically go to housing.”
The chairman shared that by utilizing sales tax revenues the village board would be able to get construction started for nine to 12 houses. A specific time for how long the board would implement the sales tax has not been determined.
“It’s a pretty major project, as far as that goes,” he commented. “As far as dropping that tax, we’re just taking it step by step. Let’s see if this is something that the village wants to do first and then we can listen to them and decide if that’s something they want to continue to do for other future projects.”
While the amount of revenue expected to be generated annually is not yet certain, if the 1 percent sales tax was applied to net taxable sales last year in Giltner, which was reported by the Nebraska Department of Revenue to be $1,219,504, 1 percent of that total would have been $12,195.
On a related note, Giltner’s “pull factor,” a term used by the Nebraska Public Power District to measure non-motor vehicle retail sales on a per capita basis, reflects a significant amount of retail leakage. The community’s most recent pull factor number from 2022 was listed at .24, compared to .29 in Phillips, .33 in Hordville, .38 in Marquette, .41 in Hampton and .87 in Aurora.
Who pays sales tax?
According to the Nebraska Department of Revenue, anything that is not specifically exempt is subject to a sales tax. Taxable items include retail items purchased either locally or online, motor vehicle purchases (regardless of where the vehicle is purchased) electricity, gas and prepared food items. Items NOT subject to a local sales tax include groceries, water bills, internet services, medical equipment and medicine. A more detailed list of taxable items in Nebraska is listed on the Open Sky Policy Institute website https://www.openskypolicy.org/what-services-are-and-arent-taxed-in-nebraska
“That’s kind of right where we’re at,” Nuss said of the $12,000 estimate. “It’s nothing crazy off the charts or wild, but that number right there is pretty close. That really does get a lot of things going with projects like this.”
Comparing what the amount could’ve been last year and seeing similiar numbers in villages of similar size, the board decided that 1 percent would be a good start.
“This is something we can take control of and it’s a great way for community members to invest in the community, knowing that more housing is going to bring better things to the school system,” Nuss said. “More teachers and more quality of life will hopefully get a little better for everyone the more we grow as a town.”
According to Nuss, the board has had good feedback so far from community members invested in the proposed sales tax and housing project.
“This kind of all just got set up here, what in the last 30 or 60 days, so we’re still kind of waiting for some community feedback,” he stated. “Then hopefully, we can get something together where if there’s some extra questioning maybe we can address that.”
Nuss stated that while they continue to seek feedback on their plans for the housing project, it will be a continuous process for the board to develop.
“To be completely candid, it’s a pretty new process to this board,” Nuss stated. “A lot of it is we’re taking advice from other towns who have done this before and these economic committees who have seen it work before, and right now it’s an educated learning process as we go forward.”
Nuss said the community is welcome to attend future board meetings to learn more and stay up to date with the board’s progress on the housing development.
The question of whether or not patrons approve the sales tax plan will be decided by a simple majority vote in the May 14 primary election.