LINCOLCN, Neb. (AP) - Cities, counties and school districts in Nebraska could be in for longer budget hearings under a bill designed to promote public awareness of how local governments spend tax revenue.
Sen. Mike Groene of North Platte presented the measure to a committee Thursday that would require local officials to hold special budget meetings with no time limits, in which anyone from the public could speak. Local governments also would have to give detailed presentations on the budget and provide copies of their proposals budget to the public.
“Government can do a lot of things, but the No. 1 thing they do is confiscate your property through taxes,” Groene said. “A budget hearing is very, very important to the citizens. It should be very important to the government.”
Groene cited personal experience attending a school board budget hearing scheduled 30 minutes before a regular meeting. There was no information available for citizens to look at, and the hearing ended after exactly half an hour even though people were still waiting to speak, he said.
A lack of clarity in Nebraska’s open meetings law may prevent residents from realizing municipal lawmakers already are supposed to provide copies of information they’re using, Groene said. His bill would clarify members of the public have a right to copies of budget statements.
Requiring city governments to have multiple copies on hand could cause a problem for smaller towns, said Lynn Rex, executive director of the League of Nebraska Municipalities.
Sen. Justin Wayne of Omaha said Groene’s bill could fix a problem he saw during his time on the Omaha Public Schools board, where budgets generally were discussed about 30 days before the official hearing. During budget hearings, a copy of the budget book would be in the room and people could ask questions, he said, but there wasn’t another presentation.
“The next thing you know, the entity adopts a budget and says, ’well, we talked about it a month ago.’ I think this will require entities to do a little bit more, and I think we should do more,” Wayne said.
Most municipal governments already have copies of their budget information available, said Sen. Carol Blood, a former Bellevue city councilwoman. She questioned whether Groene’s legislation would make a difference.
Groene contends the bill is written to help the public know when their local governments aren’t following the rules.
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