Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper
Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper
City Seeks to Open Funding Opportunities
The City of Sidney is trying to avoid the awkwardness of meeting an individual or private enterprise who wants to support development in the community, but the City can’t accept it.
The Sidney City Council met in a special session Monday morning to consider a program that would allow private contributions for economic development. Presently, LB840 limits where and how Sidney can receive funding.
“We can only do what the plan says we can do, and get funds from where it says we can get them,” Economic Development Director Melissa Norgard said Monday morning.
She said the City is very limited on its funding. Because of the limited funding, city officials have been researching how to broaden the list of potential donors and supporters of an economic development fund. In the guidelines of LB840, Sidney cannot receive funds from private sources. The proposal brought before city council Monday entitled “Sidney Economic Development Plan Revised — 2018,” creates a revolving loan fund. The new Plan will not change the local tax structure; no additional property or sales taxes will be collected to support it.
The city council’s approval of the proposal means there will be a special election by mail-in ballot Aug. 14, 2018. Norgard said the special election is needed because “60 days is 60 days.” The City wants to be ready to receive funding and therefore assist any new venture as soon as possible.
“Its not costing us anything,” said Vice-Mayor Roger Galloway.
Election laws mandate that the City, including city council members while acting in an official capacity, cannot promote the ballot issue; they can only inform voters of the ballot issue.
The proposal is for the City to appropriate from local sales and use taxes $300,000 annually for 10 years in addition to any grants, donations or state and federal funds received by the City.
City Manager Ed Sadler said promoting economic growth is the best way for the City to recover from the Bass Pro purchase of Cabela’s.
“We have to find a way to help ourselves, and jobs are the answer,” he said.
Under the program, a qualifying business must submit an application and related documents as defined in the Plan, which will be considered for recommendation by the Economic Development Director with input from a citizen advisory committee. The final decision is made by the city council. Criteria for participation in the program will include job creation or retention as determined in the revised economic plan. Loan repayment must be within 10 years for purchase of fixed assets and five years for other asset categories. The program administrators will be the Economic Development Director or contracted program administrator in addition to the current City staff. The program funds may also be used for technical assistance, job training, recruitment, promotion and tourism.
The program can also support public works improvements if the project is tied to job creation or retention and to purchase real estate or options, according to the written proposal.
The loan will be invested as provided by law and audited annually.
In 1990, the Nebraska Legislature adopted a resolution which lead to an amendment of the state constitution allowing any incorporated community to allocate funds for economic or industrial development. The bill, LB840, was introduced during the 1991 Legislative Session. Sidney voters first approved involvement in LB840 in 1997 for a 10-year agreement. It was renewed in 2017, extending the LB840 in Sidney to 2027. The proposed revision also extends the relationship to 2028.
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