Gov. Ricketts continues 'Water and Taxes' Town Hall Tour
Gov. Pete Ricketts continued his "Water and Taxes" Town Hall Tour Friday in Norfolk.
By News Channel NebraskaNORFOLK, Neb. -- Gov. Pete Ricketts continued his "Water and Taxes" Town Hall Tour Friday in Norfolk.
The governor began the town hall addressing the proposed Perkins County Canal.
The state of Nebraska made a compact with Colorado in 1923 that allows Nebraska to get 900 cubic feet a second of water during non-irrigation months.
The only way for the state to receive the water is through the creation of the Perkins County Canal, Gov. Ricketts said.
State officials said during a news conference in January announcing the $500m plan, that the canal would also feed into a planned reservoir that would store water for Nebraska's use.
"Agriculture is our number one industry here in Nebraska and we are the largest irrigated state in the nation. The foundation of our state's prosperity is in agriculture and being able to irrigate and so it's important for us to secure those water resources which is why this Perkins County Canal project is so important," Gov. Ricketts explained. "It will make sure we get that water from the South Platte River in Colorado."
During the second half of the town hall, Gov. Ricketts discussed multiple bills and tax plans for Nebraska.
He said the state is working on lowering the income tax rate from 8.4% to 5.84% along with the business tax to benefit 60% of families in the state.
Ricketts also said that state revenues are ahead of forecast and with the state controlling their spending, the government can provide tax relief.
"When we have revenues that are running ahead of what we need to run our state operations, to return that money back to the people. It's not my money, it's not the legislature's money, it's the people's money," Gov. Ricketts said. "So we should return it back to them. That's what I think the legislature should be thinking about. We have revenues to be able to meet our state obligations so we should give back to the people of Nebraska."
The legislature has also proposed a bill that would see Nebraskans get a 25% rebate on property tax paid to a school district when they file their income taxes.
A separate bill in the works would accelerate the phase-out on taxes on Social Security in Nebraska.