Every so many years, LB 840 allows Nebraska communities to renew a half-cent local sales tax, and that time has come for Schuyler, indicated by yellow envelopes in residents' mailboxes.
However, as tax concerns squeeze locals, area organizations are trying to answer questions ahead of the voting deadline. A big one is that this is an existing sales tax that's been in place since 2007 that is simply continuing, not increasing, nor is it related to property tax, said Brian Bywater with Schuyler Community Development.
"That's a huge issue right now, and there's a lot of confusion, and a lot of assumptions, and people need to understand that property tax and sales tax are apples and oranges, and the sales tax, the half cent sales tax, is earmarked through state statute to be applied for economic development purposes, and the public needs to understand that," Bywater said.
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This tax is essential for making Schuyler competitive with other cities for drawing residents and businesses when it comes to economic development, Bywater said. The downtown flower pots, the large "Hello from Schuyler" mural on 12th Street, improvements at Merchant Park and South Park — and most noticeably, housing development in town — were all possible with the funds from this sales tax option.
Funds collected through the half-cent sales tax have also allowed for some of the franchise businesses in Schuyler, like Love's, Dairy Queen and Cobblestone Hotel, Bywater said, and the money the businesses bring in feeds back into that sales tax.
In order for Schuyler Community Development's plans for more of that kind of improvement to continue, voters have to approve both the renewal of the sales tax option and the Schuyler Economic Development plan on ballots recently mailed out to voters.
Bywater noted that with property tax valuations going out — and up for many — there has recently been some resentment toward the word "tax." But the half-cent sales tax is nothing new, it's not changing, and it's not unique. Trying to avoid it by shopping in other communities just contributes to them instead of Schuyler, Bywater said.
"I realize that, you know, this is coming at a bad time, but that's why it's important for the public to understand that this is a sales tax item, that it's money that stays in Schuyler for Schuyler projects, and in order to continue to be at a competitive advantage with other communities, such as Columbus and Fremont and Seward and West Point and Wayne — they all have LB 840 tax," Bywater said.
Schuyler Economic Development and the Schuyler Area Chamber of Commerce have both posted videos on Facebook explaining the sales tax renewal and why it's important to their work. Local businesses benefit quite a bit from LB 840, Chamber Executive Director Audra Jedlicka said, because the funding from it can be used to fund local businesses' efforts that may not be eligible for government grants.
"It supports our existing businesses that want to either expand, invest in new equipment, new facilities, and then on another level, it encourages entrepreneurship," Jedlicka said.
The chamber encourages people to shop locally. Being competitive, attracting bigger franchises and supporting local small businesses is vital to growing Schuyler for years to come — a goal of both the chamber and Schuyler Community Development.
"Our main goal is just really to generate long-term growth. You know, it stabilizes our property tax by broadening retail tax base, so that's a win that helps, too, because Schuyler is really dependent upon property tax," Jedlicka said. "We have a lot of grocery stores, and so it's important to bring in new, bigger businesses and companies that can help out that sales tax base."
