Residents in Minatare may have approved a one-cent sales tax during the primary election, but the soonest it will take effect is the start of next year.
According to the minutes for their meeting June 11, the Minatare Council was told by City Attorney Jim Ellison the county was late certifying the election, which has delayed implementation of the tax.
The state Department of Revenue says documents needed to begin collection of sales taxes include a city resolution to impose the tax and a verified map of city limits, as well as certified election results and a statement from the county election commissioner that the city had not presented an unsuccessful tax question to voters within the previous 23-months. The deadline to submit those documents for a sales tax collections to begin October 1 was June 3.
Scotts Bluff County Election Commissioner Kelly Sides tells KNEB News the county Canvassing Board started their work May 24 and could have accommodated an accelerated count of the city’s precincts, but there was no request to expedite either the results of the ballot question or the certifications needed by the state.
The city has also been without a city clerk to handle such duties for a number of months, and is still looking to fill that position.
An NDOR release earlier this month said three other Nebraska communities that approved new sales tax measures in May had submitted the required paperwork by the deadline to begin sales tax collections to begin in October.
