JEFFERSON COUNTY, Neb. -- Multiple new proposed bills from the state government are putting county commissioners all over the state in "tough situations."

One of the proposed bills, fought for by Gov. Jim Pillen, is the Property Tax Relief Act, which decreases the state property tax by 40%.

Jefferson County Commissioner Mark Schoenrock said he conditionally supports Pillen’s act, but wonders where the lost revenue for the county will come from.

“So, we as county boards, we have three choices," Schoenrock said. "We either have to increase the levy to make up for that, or we have to cut services, or we have to have a source of revenue from somewhere else. We can’t print money like the federal government does.”

Schoenrock said that he supports the notion of helping Nebraska citizens pay less taxes, but is in a double-edged sword problem, with where that money will be coming from. 

“We are very concerned, as members of the NACO board, as to where the revenue is going to come from to conduct the essential functions of county government," Schoenrock said. "Whether it’s law enforcement, road maintenance, ambulance service and all of the functions that go on here at the courthouse. We are concerned where the source of revenue is coming from.”

Another proposed bill eliminates the Inheritance Tax, which would eliminate taxes people have to pay for inheriting possessions.

“So, if the inheritance tax goes away, it’s the same thing" Schoenrock said. "If you take away inheritance tax, we’re going to have to cut to the tune of 10 to 12%. Nobody wants any less of those services, so it is a very difficult equation that we are dealing with here."

The Jefferson County Board of Commissioners are forced to make a difficult decision: If less tax money is coming in, how would services like 24/7 ambulance service, road maintenance and law enforcement be able to continue in the way they currently are?

Despite the difficult question, Schoenrock still supports Pillen and his efforts to relieve tax payers. 

“We are conditionally supporting this," Schoenrock said. "Because everybody wants to pay less taxes, we get that. But on the other side of the equation, people don’t want less services so what’s going to give?”

Schoenrock gave his thoughts on what Jefferson County and Nebraska citizens can do to help. 

“So what our citizens need to do, is number one, be aware of the issue. One of my favorite inscriptions, above the capital, is ‘Salvation of the state is the watchfulness of the citizen.’," Schoenrock said. "So our citizens need to be watchful of what’s going on in this process. I know people are busy, they have their jobs, they are trying to raise their families, etc. But they need to pay attention to this process because this is a generational change in Nebraska government.”

Schoenrock said what happens in Lincoln over the next few days needs to reflect the will of the citizens of Nebraska.

The hearing date for these bills is Thursday, Feb. 1 and Friday, Feb. 2.