BEATRICE - The light at the end of the tunnel is gradually getting closer for Gage County, as it continues to pay off a huge federal civil rights judgment.
Gage County Board Chairman Erich Tiemann says the county has now paid off over $20 million of the $30 million owed for wrongful conviction of six people in a 1985 Beatrice murder and rape case.


"Right now, we're at about $20.8, $20.9 million paid. So, that leaves us with about $10 million left. This year, we should see $2.7 million paid this fiscal year. Then, we'll move on with another $2.7 million the following year...which gets us down to about that $3 million mark. So, the end is in sight."


The county has used its 50-cent limit on property taxes, a half-cent local sales tax along with a $4 million state allocation passed in the legislature, to help make the payoff.


"That sales tax goes away, soon as this judgment is gone. It's always paid to us in arrears...we're always a couple months behind, so when we get closer, we'll actually be projecting what we can do to finalize this...so we know about when we're going to be done, so we pull that sales tax off ahead of time."


Tiemann says it will be a relief when the entire amount is satisfied …and will rid the area of the judgment surfacing as an ongoing question when individuals or companies are looking at coming to the area.


"Hopefully, we never deal with it again...but it also shows some resiliency in the county, that even though we have this issue, we worked through it...carried on operations as normal as possible, and life does go on. Now, this will be something we can say its not there as businesses come in and ask...what about that judgment, what about that property tax? It is brought up, because it's been publicized so much. It will be a strike in our favor, instead of against us."


A decline in property taxes and eliminating the half cent county-wide sales tax…are what Tiemann calls…..”two more bonuses.”