BEATRICE - Hundreds of agriculture landowners with grassland or CRP who received the sticker shock of higher valuations in Gage County, should see those revert back downward.  At issue is a new state law sponsored by a western Nebraska legislator, which resulted in some classes of soil jumping to a higher class.


Assessor Patti Milligan is submitting a letter which amounts to a change of value notice, which was approved Wednesday by the county’s board of equalization, considering pasture and CRP as a subclass.


"It just didn't sit right for me, that the way that I've done it here for being here as long as I have. And, I knew what kind of raises it put on the farmers".


The letter approved by the equalization board allows the assessor to roll back the valuations on the soil classifications that had increased.
Lloyd Dickinson is a certified appraiser who assists Gage County on agriculture land valuations. He described how the new law sponsored through a bill from Senator Steve Erdman affected ag owners.


"Erdman's bill, as I understand it, simply said have the county assessors classify soil types the same way the old Soil Conservation, or the NRCS does. In effect, a class-four soil after it went through Lincoln, became a class-one pasture soil. And, of course, under the system, a class-one pasture soil is worth more, than a class-four pasture soil".


The State of Nebraska advised the county to establish the subclass in order to set the appropriate value. Dickinson says he feels the intent of the bill was changed.


"And, they mis-classified grassland and CRP. And, Patti's in the process of getting that corrected. I don't think there will be a lot of change in the dry cropland values, or the irrigated".

The county board of equalization has approved agreements with Dickinson and Darrell Stanard of Stanard Appraisal Services for assistance as referees during property valuation protests.  A separate maintenance agreement with Stanard Appraisal Services was also approved by the board. 

So far, the county has received about thirty formal protests of property valuations. 

The board approved the change in valuation notice on a 5-0 vote.  Board members John Hill and Eddie Dorn abstained, over being directly affected by the change because of land they own.

In other matters Wednesday, the county has selected contractors for some road and bridge work.  The board of supervisors Wednesday approved the bid of Contech Engineered Solutions, of Lincoln, for three culvert projects at a price of $77,479.  Bids were received from three companies.

The board also approved the only bid received for paint striping on 35-and-a-half miles of county asphalt road.   The bid from Straight Line Striping of Grand Island, totaled $38,313.

Board members also took action to approve a bid for three projects in the third round of a State of Nebraska bridge matching program.   The work includes one bridge in Gage County, along with a bridge and removal of a structure in Pawnee County. The bid of Midwest Infrastructure, of Lincoln was approved, at a total cost of $929,160. 

The deck slab bridge project in Gage County is in Rockford Township, southwest of Holmesville. 

Under the state program, counties that pool projects together can be eligible for up to half the cost of the work being paid through state funds, up to a capped amount.