Decrease proposed for county tax levy

The City of Seward is again expecting to maintain its tax levy for the 2021-22 fiscal year. 

The proposed budget calls for the total levy to remain at 35.3 cents per $100 of assessed value. The levy has not increased since 2013, Seward City Administrator Greg Butcher said. 

“It’s predominantly the increase in valuation and trying to continue to keep costs under control,” he said. “We continue to see valuation increase, whether that’s the city’s expanding or building new houses, and obviously, we know house sales are up and valuations are up. 

“We try not to adjust that levy if we can.”

The new budget calls for a 4% increase for city employee salaries. The budget set the raise at 3.5%, but the council elected to increase it to the 4% mark at its Aug. 17 meeting. Butcher said the increase is a cost of living adjustment, which is analyzed each year. 

“In the early summer, our personnel finance and audit committee looks at things like the Consumer Price Index and inflation, those different measures at the federal level for the last 12 months, and that’s what they base it off of,” he said. 

The budget includes a 3% increase in electric rates to offset operations and maintenance costs. 

“That’s one of the sides we see the highest increases in costs to get materials and other things,” Butcher said. “They’re material intensive every year for line replacements and as we extend utilities throughout the city for new developments and things like that.”

The city’s electric department budget includes significant projects such as a meter replacement project for $315,000 and an upgrade to utilities on Progressive Avenue for $425,000. 

“This is a really big budget but it’s not unusual,” Butcher said. “We continue to upgrade and convert our utilities and as the city continues to grow, we see pressures on our capacity to buy electricity, so we have to get more substations and more equipment just to feed all of that.”

Wastewater rates are also proposed to increase by 3% to help with expenses for a new wastewater treatment plant. 

“We’re really building up, getting prepared for the design of that in the next year or so and, ultimately, the capital expense, which is going to be extremely expensive,” Butcher said. “We’re considering when we provide the actual rate ordinance to the council to potentially put in a facility fee as part of that 3% and that would show a dedicated fund to put money for the waste water facility upgrade.”

While wastewater and electric rates face a possible increase, Butcher said the water rates do not have a proposed raise. He said that this year’s water budget includes the construction of a new downtown water tower, the majority of which will be funded by city and county America Rescue Plan Act funding. The water tower project is slated at $2 million. The city will use $1.2 million in ARPA funds and has received $300,000 ARPA dollars from Seward County. The water department will cover the rest of the costs of construction, Butcher said. 

Other details in the budget include:

• The cemetery budget includes the purchase and installation of new software for mapping, maintenance and management in the cemetery.
• The Civic Center budget has $125,000 set aside for American with Disabilities Act improvements and other remodels.
• The Fire and Rescue budget includes $5,000 for design and planning for a potential project on a plot north of the fire department building. 
• The Seward Community Golf Course has seen a significant increase in memberships in the last two years. Butcher said the city will, in turn, begin a project to install permanent concrete cart paths. This year’s budget includes $30,000 for the first portion of the project. Butcher said the replacement project has been prioritized and sections will be completed based on the areas most in need. “The ultimate goal is to have a permanent path throughout the golf course,” he said.
• The Seward Police Department has a vehicle replacement scheduled. Butcher said the city aims to replace one vehicle per year. 
• The recycling budget includes $90,000 for the installation of a new retaining wall. “There are areas on that block that, due to elevation differences, are just degrading down into the recycling center,” Butcher said. 
• The street department budget includes regular street repairs and ADA improvements on sidewalks. The budget also includes $130,000 for a design to update the bridge on Bluff Road. The city also set aside $550,000 in the street budget to pave East Seward Street  from the Ridge Run area to Highway 34.

The city will host a public hearing at its next regular meeting on Sept. 7 before potentially approving the budget that night.