County gets early look at budget

McCOOK, Nebraska -- Red Willow County, Nebraska, commissioners took an early look Monday morning at the county's 2014-15 budget, pondering the purchase of a new road grader and the costs of armor-coated county roads and tax foreclosures.

In the preliminary road and bridge budget, commissioners Earl McNutt, Vesta Dack and Steve Downer penciled in a new road grader at $250,000.

The cost of this year's armor coating projects is estimated at $155,000-170,000. Rock and gravel for all the county's roads will cost about $200,000.

The cost of foreclosing on 24 properties with delinquent real estate taxes will be about $10,000. Last month, commissioners hired McCook attorney Nate Mustion to complete the foreclosures, agreeing to pay him $150 an hour.

For the next several weeks, commissioners and department heads will peruse the proposed budgets that they returned to commissioners Aug. 1.

In other action, commissioners:

* Approved splitting off five acres when C.K. Swanson sells about a quarter of land north of Highway 6 and 34 west of McCook on the county line.

* Reviewed, with county superintendent Gary Dicenta, the county's participation in a state program in which the state provides flexible, break-away reflective hazard road signs and the county provides the labor to install them. McNutt said at least two signs will be placed on each of the county's 43 bridges.