If you live in Sarpy County, you may have received a special postcard. The postcard is not a tax bill.
The postcard shows the estimated change in your property taxes on the right side of the card, as well as the political subdivisions levying those taxes.
Anyone can attend the public hearing(s) listed on the postcard to learn more about the budgeting process and make public comments before the political subdivision adopts the levy for the next fiscal year.
The Joint Public Hearing in Sarpy County is Thursday, September 21, at 6:30 p.m. at Bellevue East High School. Participating political subdivisions are:
City of Bellevue
(402) 293-3000
Proposed 2023-2024 Property Tax Request: $34,414,880.46
City of Gretna
402-332-3336
Proposed 2023-2024 Property Tax Request: $6,206,063.00
Bellevue Public Schools
402-293-4000
Proposed 2023-2024 Property Tax Request: $47,172,809.00
Sarpy County
402-593-4155
Proposed 2023-2024 Property Tax Request: $70,759,500.00
You can find answers to common questions below.
Joint Public Hearing: Frequently Asked Questions
Why did I get a postcard?
State law requires a postcard to go to all property owners within political subdivisions that are asking for more in tax revenues, by a certain amount, than they asked for the previous year.
Did Sarpy County raise its levy rate?
No, Sarpy County did not raise its levy rate. However, your property taxes may increase/decrease if the assessed value of your property changed. The assessed value of your property and any increase or decrease is shown on the postcard you received.
How are property taxes calculated?
Property taxes are determined by multiplying the property’s taxable value by the tax rate for the tax district in which the property is located. The tax district for a property includes various local authorities, which levy property taxes for services.
How does this impact the property taxes that I already paid this year?
This does not impact the 2022 property taxes you paid this year. This postcard is notifying owners of estimated changes to certain levies within their property tax bill that will be paid next year.
Keep in mind, property taxes are paid in arrears. During the calendar year 2023, property owners paid their property taxes for 2022. During the calendar year 2024, property owners will pay their property taxes for 2023.
I only see a few political subdivisions listed on this postcard. What about the other political subdivisions with taxing authority?
The Nebraska Legislature determined that only counties, cities, community colleges and school districts making a property tax request exceeding their allowable growth percentage need to be included on the postcard and participate in the joint public hearing.
I only have one public hearing listed on my postcard. Are there supposed to be two?
If you only have one public hearing listed on your postcard, all of the political subdivisions listed in your postcard are headquartered in Sarpy County, and representatives from those political subdivisions will be participating in the same public hearing on Thursday, September 21, at 6:30 p.m. at Bellevue East High School.
For those who received postcards with two public hearings listed, that means a taxing authority is headquartered in another county, and a representative from that taxing authority will be participating in the joint public hearing in the other county.
Are these political subdivisions voting on their tax rates at this joint public hearing?
No. At the joint public hearing, a representative from each political subdivision will give a brief presentation on that political subdivision's intent to increase its property tax request by more than the allowable growth percentage and the effect of such request on the political subdivision's budget, but there will not be any votes taken after the presentations.
For the political subdivisions participating in this joint public hearing, their participation in this joint public hearing is required BEFORE the political subdivision can file their adopted budget statement.
More Questions?
For answers to additional questions or to listen to a live-stream audio recording of the joint public hearing, please click here.