By Zachary Christensen and Jordan Campbell (Reason Foundation), includes “Public pension debts from three major municipal plans in Nebraska are approaching $1 billion, and an analysis of Omaha’s two municipal systems and Lincoln’s public safety plan suggest that this shortfall is likely to continue to expand unless policymakers make meaningful changes to how the city funds and manages the retirement plans.”
By Don Walton, includes “… Erdman introduced LB133 and a proposed constitutional amendment (LR11CA) to rewrite the state's tax system, eliminating property, income and corporate taxes and replacing them with a consumption tax applied to services and the purchase of new goods.”
Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts will push to reduce property taxes during this legislative session by limiting local government spending, and he warns the issue could go to voters if lawmakers don’t approve changes.
Businesses, charities and individuals suffering from the economic effects of COVID-19 can soon apply for a new round of state aid, Gov. Pete Ricketts announced Monday.
As pandemic restrictions loosen, Nebraska is growing again. While some states continue to struggle through the current coronavirus impacted economy, Nebraska now has the lowest unemployment rate of any state in the country.
OPS Superintendent Cheryl Logan said it’s time for the district to get out of the business of running a pension system.
The 2020 Financial State of the States report surveys the fiscal health of the 50 states prior to the coronavirus pandemic. This data is released today by Truth in Accounting (TIA), a think tank that analyzes government financial reporting.
How large could the shortfall in state government general revenues be, amidst the coronavirus and related crises?
Signed April 24, L.B. 713 requires Nebraska’s legislative fiscal analyst to conduct budget stress tests in odd-numbered years and publish a long-term budget every four years.
What is identified in the corporate world as investment is often identified politically as spending when it occurs in the public sector.
“… Kagan believes the OPS board will try to get the money needed from the pension from taxpayers. 'They’re looking to either make up this unfunded portion of the pension plan through either another bond issue or property tax hike, and we would oppose both of those,' Kagan said. Kagan would like to see budget cuts make up for the pension shortfall, but he might get opposition from the classrooms on that suggestion.”
It's that time of the year again when we find out how deep in the red our country is thanks to the 2018 edition of the Mercatus Center State Fiscal Rankings.
Death penalty opponents were horrified on Tuesday when Nebraska became the first state in the union to carry out an execution using the painkiller fentanyl, which has been a driving force of the deadly opioid epidemic.
Every year, citizens, pundits and elected officials in Nebraska engage in spirited debates about government spending.
The U.S. job market is so tight that some cities are offering bonuses to employees willing to relocate.
The Nebraska Legislature on Wednesday rejected authorizing the Omaha Public Schools to issue $300 million in bonds to shore up its badly underfunded pension fund.
A badly underfunded pension system has blown a sizable hole in the Omaha Public Schools budget, forcing the district to divert tens of millions annually to shore up its retirement fund.
Deepening pension obligations have begun to take a painful bite out of the Omaha Public Schools budget, posing a potential threat to classroom funding.
North Platte Senator Mike Groene perfectly framed the argument for the state collecting sales tax on internet purchases during floor debate on a bill to allow it.
LINCOLN — Online shoppers won’t be forced to pay Nebraska sales taxes this year after the Legislature killed an Internet tax proposal on Thursday.