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McCook Gazette

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Editorial

Minden may bring sales tax to bear on water repair issues

Friday, October 10, 2014

Minden residents sometimes can't tell whether they've flushed the toilet or not.

Tests show the water is safe to drink, but city officials are getting tired of people bringing in photos and samples of water ranging from yellow, to red and brown.

It stains clothes and, in parts of town, barely dribbles out of the faucet.

The problem is iron and manganese in the water mains, which are also very old. City crews open fire hydrants twice a year to try to flush out the lines, but the problem persists.

Unlike McCook's water treatment plant, which went online in 2006, Minden has been treating its water since 1969.

Minden voters will be asked to raise local sales taxes in order to finance $6.1 million in improvements to the city's water system. Another $3 million will be spent if and when city growth demands expansion of the system, but that could be 15 to 20 years from know, the city administrator told KHAS-TV.

McCook took the right action in spending $14 million for a state-of-the-art water treatment plant -- although we're disappointed the product has a chlorine taste -- but it will be years before the initial cost of that project is paid off, not to mention millions in operating costs.

But that won't be the end of it. The "aggressive" water that is now served up by the city water system is playing havoc with many homeowners' copper pipes, and we know many water mains were installed early last century.

Water rates which had to be boosted to keep the city water system solvent will have to be shepherded carefully to avoid the kind of vote Minden is now facing.

Comments
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  • The water treatment plant did dramatically drive up spending by McCook and water rates did increase. Property tax levy did not increase and the sale tax rate did not increase. Good luck to Minden and I hope we will all have water to treat in the future as the letter from the U.S. Secretary of the Interior dated Sept. 3, 2014 was warning that increase pressure from certain surface water user areas (Upper NRD) endangers the water availability for other Nebraskans. It is vital for those in District 44 to know which legislative canidate is backed by those over using and supported by those over using. Just another reason to vote for Dan Hughes!

    -- Posted by dennis on Sat, Oct 11, 2014, at 8:33 AM

  • Correction ....the letter did NOT state that surface water users were the problem. Instead it was talking about those that over pump and pump on land that was better of pasture.

    -- Posted by dennis on Sat, Oct 11, 2014, at 10:21 AM

  • The local sales tax rate DID increase in 2007 from 1% to 1.5%. You should know that as you pushed for the residents of McCook to vote for it by scaring senior citizens with a property tax increase and convincing residents that those that come to McCook to shop aren't paying their fair share to drive on the city streets and using services.

    The vital choice was already made in District 44 when you didn't advance through the primaries in May.

    -- Posted by Todd Cappel on Sat, Oct 11, 2014, at 12:27 PM

  • I do need to clarify, the sales tax DID increase but NOT to pay the bill for the water treatment facility. It increased by a vote of the people with half of the increase going to the MEDC and the other to special projects identified by the citizens as what they wanted.

    -- Posted by dennis on Sat, Oct 11, 2014, at 6:21 PM

  • Yeh, Dennis, special projects for which citizens? Besides McCook always hollering others aren't paying their fair share to drive on the city streets and using services. We all are paying out tax money for your streets and services through grants, taxes as it is. I wonder how our tax dollars are spent on college educationing people. One thing for sure you can't fix stupid no matter how much schooling we pay out for in taxes.

    -- Posted by S&P1958 on Sun, Oct 12, 2014, at 5:31 PM

  • S& P you are correct that the city of McCook aggressively sought grants from the state and Feds. That was money area folks already paid them and it would seem wise to try to bring that money back home instead of having our tax dollars go to New York or some other community in Nebraska. Citizens in McCook also pay taxes for county roads and bridges yet I never heard complaints about that nor do I hope to. Most of the state dollars in taxes goes to projects in Eastern Nebraska. I do hear some grumbles about that but folks seem to understand that the east is where the heavier traffic is. Some of the special projects identified by the citizens were roads, the senior center, landfill, parks, swimming pool, safety center, street lights, signage and more. McCook is not any different than all the communities the same size in asking everyone to help pay for those types of projects. I pay for that when I visit other towns through their sales taxes and feel it is just my responsibility to do so. It is your right however to feel that you should not be ask to cover your cost for those type projects.

    -- Posted by dennis on Sun, Oct 12, 2014, at 7:06 PM

  • You forgot to mention that we also help pay for your property taxes, BUT you do not help pay for the rural areas or smaller towns in Red Willow county property taxes. The county also gave the land for the Senior Citizen center in McCook, how fast you people forgot that also. Your right it is my right to feel I should not have to cover the cost of your property taxes.

    -- Posted by S&P1958 on Tue, Oct 14, 2014, at 5:35 PM

  • The citizens of McCook also pay county taxes and the other towns can ...and some do ...have sales taxes MCCook folks would pay when they vist. That said, we are all one neighbor of SW Nebraska. Hopefully, like our forefathers, we are willing to help each other. (The MCCook senior Center) serves those in the entire county. And thanks to the County for the land' that's to to City for the facility, staffing and expenses that follow....and thanks to the many seniors that donate.)

    -- Posted by dennis on Thu, Oct 16, 2014, at 10:02 PM
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