The Box Butte County Commissioners took action on June 6, designating the State Print Shop as the official vendor for postcard printing.
LB 644 was approved by Governor Pete Ricketts on May 24, 2021. The bill, which was introduced by Senator Ben Hansen, was passed with the intent to increase transparency for political subdivisions raising property tax levies.
The Introducer’s Statement of Intent said, “LB644 requires a postcard be mailed to all constituents in relation to the political subdivisions request for higher levy rates than cannot exceed the previous years request.”
At their meeting on Monday, the Box Butte County Commissioners discussed designating a vendor to print the postcards for the county if the need to send them arises. They heard from Box Butte County Assessor Michelle Robinson.
“NACO (Nebraska Association of County Officials) is wanting to know what county boards are planning on doing for print shops, because they need to get estimates to (The State Print Shop),” said Robinson. “There’s options that counties can do. We don’t have a Kinko’s around here, but, that’s an example of if a county wanted to use somebody else, other than The State Print Shop. It’s the board’s decision.”
Robinson said that NACO is working with MIPS on the design of the postcards to ensure that they meet the requirements of LB 644.
Commissioner Steve Burke made a motion to select The State Print Shop as the official vendor for postcard printing.
“It’s better off to have a plan than need it and wait til the last minute and can’t find anyone,” said Burke.
The commissioners voted unanimously to approve the motion.