$72 million law enforcement center bond fails in Buffalo County, other tax increases approved in 3 Nebraska elections

Buffalo County voters overwhelmingly rejected a $72 million bond issue for a new law enforcement center in a special election Tuesday.

Unofficial results from the Buffalo County Election Commission show 7,641 registered voters cast their ballots against the proposal and 3,778 voted in favor.

Buffalo County and City of Kearney leaders said the new center was critical to meet the booming growth the county is seeing. In a presentation given this summer, leaders said current facilities are at capacity with population and staffing projected to trend higher over the next 30 years. The Kearney Police Department and the Buffalo County Sheriff’s Office collectively employ around 130 people – up from 72 in 1993. Staffing is estimated to grow to 200 employees by 2055.

The current building that houses both the Police Department and Sheriff’s Office in the heart of town is operating over capacity, according to Buffalo County Commissioner Sherry Morrow.

“We’ve already moved four departments out of there to another location,” Morrow said. “Because of the size, that will continue to go on. We have people whose offices are in what used to be a custodial closet thing.”

Buffalo County and the City of Kearney in June issued a joint proclamation supporting the new law enforcement center, saying a new center would be a “practical and strategic” solution for population and staffing growth and a “vision for a safe, more unified, and better-prepared future for citizens of Buffalo County and the City of Kearney.”

Morrow said she was grateful that the community weighed in, even though she would’ve liked to see a voter turnout higher than the 37% recorded in Tuesday’s special election.

“We’ll probably take a little time off – let everybody get their feet back on the ground, because a lot of people have been working a lot on this in different areas,” Morrow said. “We’ll get back together. We’ll talk about it, and we’ll figure out what the next step is or what direction we want to go then.”

The rejection was the only ballot-issue special election held Tuesday where voters denied a tax increase.

In a separate special election held Tuesday in Buffalo County, 55% of voters in Elm Creek approved increasing the village’s sales tax from 1% to 1 ½%. The sales tax increase proposal received 137 votes in support and 113 in opposition.

Voters in Wilber also elected to increase their city sales tax from 1% to 1 ½% in a special election Tuesday. Leaders win the Saline County city said the half-cent sales tax increase would fund potential electric, sewer, street and water projects, including funding for a new water well that’s estimated to cost $2.5 million. 304 voters cast their ballots in support of the measure, and 167 voted against.

In a special election held Tuesday in the Crofton Public Schools District, encompassing parts of Knox and Cedar counties, voters overwhelmingly approved a $5.9 million school bond to build six new elementary classrooms and two restrooms to meet Americans with Disabilities Act guidelines. The extra funding would also create a dedicated storm shelter or safe space, move the kitchen that’s currently located in the school’s gym to a dedicated cafeteria space and provide a new roof over the entire elementary school.

Three school bond elections failed in August, bringing funding proposal blows to the school districts of McCook, Cambridge and Pierce.

Crofton becomes the 11th school district to approve a bond measure so far this year. Others are Elkhorn Valley, Millard, Pleasanton, Ravenna, Bennington, Fillmore Central, Weeping Water, Louisville, Randolph and Centennial. In contrast, nine school districts have lost school bond elections, including Logan View, Freeman, Gering, Hemingford, South Sioux City and Tri-County.