December 4, 2012 - Laserfiche WebLink

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OFFICE REPORT HALL COUNTY REGISTER OF D�EDS CORRECTED OFFICE REPORT AUGUST 2012 RECORDING �EES $ 2,993.D0 9:05 a.m. Held a Board of Equalization meeting 9:10 a.m. adjourned the Baard of Equalization meeting and returned to the regular meeting. 7. UPDATE FROM SENATOR MIKE GLOOR— Mr. Quandt thanked Senator Gloor for coming. Ms. Lancaster noted that every year it seems to be a scramble to maintain funding for county government and she thanked him for his assistance with the inheritance tax issue last year. Senator Gloor stated that this is the budget year and it will be a long session. He noted that there is only a 200 million dollar short fall. 2 years ago it was about 600 million and they held a special session to address the shortfall. Every committee was challenged to come up with a resolution far the shortfall and they did balance the budget. But whatever happens in Washington trickles down to the states and they are obligated to balance the budget. County and State legislation walk side by side and the state mandates are a challenge for the counties. Regarding the inheritance tax issue he stated that na one has ever complain�d about inheritance tax and this doesn't seem to be an issue with his constituents. They will have ta look at the different option that may help with the national rankings. If the inheritance tax is eliminat�d it will affect every county and maybe the state should take back some of th� responsibilities af the mandate that have been imposed on the counties the only thing the counties can do is to increase property taxes and constituents do express concern on property tax. H� noted that Senator Adams will probably be the next speaker. Mr. Quandt questioned if it will go anywhere this session and Senator Gloor stated that it did nat get out of the revenue committee but there will be a different rev�nue committee this year a new chair and new members so he is not sure. Senator Hadley is aware af the concerns of the counties and a majority of the senators are very sympathetic to the challenges that the counties face. He stated that he has met all of the new senators and is very impressed. Mr. Ziola noted rather than eliminate the inheritance tax could the levels be adjusted and Senator Gloor stated they could look at the brackets. There may not be one simple solution. Lancaster noted that county government is very efficient in the way that we do business. The state took over the assessor's office and now they are returning them to the counties. When the counties make budget cuts they are cutting actual dollars out af the budgets and th� state looks at projections. She stated she supports the governor introducing foreign trade but he doesn't realize that county government has already tightened our belts. She noted that the Platt� Institute realized the efficiency of Half County. Senator Gloor stated that the state needs to take an overall look at tax policy and he hopes this will happen. He also noted the fact that 50% of Nebraska's population lives an the other side of 27tn Street in Lincoln and some of the senators in the eastern part of the state da not know all of the issues in rural Nebraska. If you look at a district map only 12 of the districts are not affected 2