The Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee heard testimony Feb. 19 on a bill intended to address township board vacancies.<\/p>\n
LB980, introduced by Wahoo Sen. Jerry Johnson, would establish a time frame for a township board termination procedure.<\/p>\n
The township board form of government is used in 26 counties, Johnson said, and involves a three-member board with levy authority. He said state law provides for townships to oversee cemeteries and libraries and to provide fire protection, snow removal and other functions.<\/p>\n
Johnson said it can take up to a year under current law to have a township board officially declared inactive.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor those 26, we need this [bill] because we\u2019re finding it hard to get people to serve on those township boards,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Under the bill, a county board could hold a public hearing regarding termination of a township board within 45 days of two or more vacancies occurring on a board. Notice of the hearing would be required for two consecutive weeks.<\/p>\n
If no appointments were made within 45 days of the public hearing, the county board could adopt a resolution to terminate the township board. The bill also would authorize the county board to pay future obligations of the township until the township board was reactivated.<\/p>\n
Saunders County Clerk Patti Lindgren testified in support of the bill, saying it is important to allow county boards to continue levying authority when a township board is inactive. Otherwise, she said, not everyone in the county is paying their fair share for county services.<\/p>\n
Lindgren said it recently took three years to fill a township board in Saunders County, complete a budget and request levying authority.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, we went three years without any taxes being collected,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
No one testified in opposition to LB980 and the committee took no immediate action on the bill.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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