BEATRICE, Neb. - The Gage County Board has approved the county's 2025-26 budget and tax request rate. 

The county operating budget for 2025-26 fiscal year is set at just over $60.3-million, a 4% decrease from 2024-25. The property tax request rate also was altered, increasing by 2.47% - a figure Board Chairman Erich Tiemann is proud of. 

"We've consistently kept our budget is very very lean... We've consistently done more with less," Tiemann said. "2.47% increase is below the inflation rate. We're doing more projects, putting more materials on roads, continuing to update the necessary commitments within the courthouse, and we're doing that with a lower increase and the dollars dropping."

The board also altered the total property tax request by 12% from .267 cents to .235.