The Operating Budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 was approved by the LENRD Board of Directors at their September 10th meeting.
The tax request of $4,495,276 was a decrease of $79,736, 1.74%, from last year’s budget. The estimated levy, based on the property tax request, is 1.5706 cents per $100 of valuation, which is a decrease of 6.02% from the FY 2026 levy of 1.6712cents per $100 of valuation. For example, if a person owns a $300,000 house, the taxes owed to the LENRD would have been $50.14 in 2026 and will be approximately $47.12 in 2027.
The LENRD’s total Operating Budget for FY 2027 is estimated at $12,902,467, which is a decrease of $794,462, or 5.80% from last Fiscal Year. The Lower Elkhorn Natural Resources District Board and staff work diligently to prioritize spending to ensure that local tax dollars are used efficiently.
Some major expenditures for FY 2027 are:
- Levee/Flood Protection Projects - $898,700; City of Wayne Prairie Park Project, Pender Rattlesnake Creek Project, and Colfax County Streambank Stabilization Project
- Water Resources Programs - $989,312.
- Project Construction - $553,600; Willow Creek Artesian Pressure Mitigation, Maskenthine Bike Trail and Campground Hydrants, Maple Creek Beach Sand, Willow Creek Park Renovations, McKenzie Dam Principal Spillway Renovation, and Scribner Air Base West Dam.
- Professional Services (including studies, designs & WFPO Projects) - $700,290; Maple Creek WFPO (partial grant reimbursement); North Fork Elkhorn River WFPO (partial grant reimbursement); Pierce Levee; Groundwater Modeling (partial grant reimbursement); and Geodatabase/Mapping/IT (partial grant reimbursement).
- Buffer Strip Program - $54,000
- Conservation Cost-Share Programs - $835,300; Bazile Groundwater Management Area Project (BGMA) and Willow Creek Best Management Practices (BMPs) (partial grant reimbursement); Agroforestry, Nitrogen Reduction Incentive Act; and Nitrogen Use Efficiency (fully reimbursed).
- New Intergovernmental Cost Share - $160,000
- Forestry Programs - $17,200
- Sinking Funds – Battle Creek Project Sinking Fund ($200,000) and Flood Mitigation Sinking Fund ($800,000).
- Operation & Maintenance of the Rural Water Systems - $1,350,945
- Capital Improvement & Outlay of the Rural Water Systems - $1,033,055
The LENRD has received major grant funding for the: Bazile BMPs, Willow Creek BMPs, and Public Beach Monitoring Program (Environmental Protection Agency); Source Water Protection Person, and Bazile Coordinator (Natural Resources Conservation Service); Conservation Planner (National Association of Conservation Districts Technical Grant); and State grants and funds from Nebraska Department of Water, Energy, and Environment, and Nebraska Environmental Trust.
The Lower Elkhorn NRD has also received grant funding from the NRCS for Watershed Flood Prevention Operations (WFPO). Funding through this program has assisted with the environmental assessments for the North Fork Elkhorn River Watershed Plan and the Maple Creek Watershed Plan.
Because the LENRD strives to be fiscally responsible with local tax dollars, there is a strong focus on the continuation of allocating resources towards Sinking Funds in the budget. The funds are put into savings now to be used for expenses that will occur with future projects. This mechanism allows the LENRD to maintain a stable tax levy, preventing the spike effect that can occur when the NRD needs to raise significant funds in a short timeframe.
The budget needs to be submitted to the Nebraska State Auditor’s office by September 30th each year and therefore the Fiscal Year budget and tax levy are set at the Special September Board meetings, which follows the public hearing for the budget. The District’s board meetings are open to the public and begin at 7:30 p.m. on the 4th Thursday of the month.