Representatives from the cities of Milford and Seward will be prepared to answer questions and explain their budgets at the county’s “Pink Postcard Hearing” on Monday, Sept. 23.
The hearing will convene at 7 p.m. at the Seward County Fairgrounds’ Harvest Hall.
As required by state law, any political subdivision that seeks to increase its property tax request by an amount exceeding the “allowable growth percentage” must participate in a joint public hearing hosted by the Seward County clerk.
At least one representative must attend to discuss their budget and tax asking.
Allowable growth is a percentage based on the increase in total property values from the prior year, which varies from entity to entity based on the changes in its tax base.
Last year about 100 people attended the pink postcard hearing to learn about the tax request of five taxing entities.
This year, the City of Seward is requesting $2,155,604 from tax funds, up $149,138 or 7.4% over last year’s $2,006,456.
The City of Milford is requesting $777,074 from tax funds, up 50,839 or 7.0% over last year’s $726,235.
After the public hearing, the two municipalities will have the option to change their budgets prior to submitting final information to the Seward County Board of Examiners (comprised of the Seward County Board of Commissioners) for a final hearing and approval of all Seward County taxes to be assessed for the current budget year.
Both Milford and Seward have final budget hearings for Sept. 24 on their calendars.
The pink postcard hearing law passed in 2021 and amended in 2022 and 2023 requires the county clerk to send a pink postcard of a prescribed size, on a prescribed date to the residents in each of the subdivisions summoned to the hearing.
The law prescribes the information included for each taxpayer outlining parcel information, assessment value for this and the previous year, and the tax asking for the identified political subdivisions for this and the previous year and what the difference will be – for that political subdivision only – in dollars and cents.
Seward County Clerk Sherry Schweitzer’s postcard hit Seward and Milford mailboxes last week.
Across the county, the value of properties on which taxes are assessed rose more than $181 million from $3.6 billion to $3.7 billion (5%), which includes increased valuations and new construction.
Once all political subdivisions have submitted their tax requests, the Seward County assessor totals all taxable property valuations by the appropriate taxing entity to determine each property owners’ tax responsibility. The actual tax rate per property depends upon which city, village, school district, natural resources district, or other taxing entities include their property. Some properties will also be taxed by less common entities, like the Seward Airport Authority.
