District 47 legislative candidates answer voter questions at Sidney forum

The four candidates for the 47th District legislative seat tackled a dozen questions from the public, ranging from property taxes to TIF projects, during a candidate forum held at the Buffalo Point Steakhouse in Sidney early Monday afternoon.

The District 47 legislative seat is currently held by State Sen. Ken Schilz of Ogallala, who is term limited from running for re-election.

Cheyenne County has two locals running for the State Legislature among the four candidates, which include Wendall F. Gaston and Peggy Popps of Sidney, Karl Elmshaeuser of Ogallala and Steve Erdman of Bayard.

Suzy Ernest, manager of the KSID radio station, served as moderator for the forum.

The forum allowed candidates two minutes each for both opening and closing remarks, and 90 seconds to answer each question.

The first question of the forum asked candidates their plan to represent the rural agriculture of their district when faced with a greater number of senators from the eastern part of the state.

Elmshaeuser said there are 49 state senators, and only 11 from west of Grand Island. He said it takes 33 of them to get votes passed, which means they need to be able to work together.

"It can be done," Elmshaeuser said. "But you can't have bravado at it. We have to tell our story about what are means are. I had a conversation with a senator in Omaha before, and he was telling me about charter schools and I wanted to tell him about property taxes.

"Because they don't know. That doesn't mean that they're dumb. That doesn't mean that they don't have common sense. That means we need to tell them why that's important and why that affects us and the state as a whole."

Popps said because there are so few senators in the west, a lot of times we hear the state ends at Grand Island.

"And when we talk about reaching across the aisle in the legislature, it's not about Republicans and Democrats," Popps said. "It's actually about urban versus rural, and so what I have done is reach out to many, many of our state senators. I have met with them face to face to try and build some of those relationships and just to try to find some common ground.

"Because I believe that it's important that you put yourself out there. You've got to have the ability to negotiate, you have to have the ability to persuade, you have to have the ability to debate. That's what these senators do every single day."

Gaston said he agreed with Elmshaeuser and Popps, calling rural senators "a minority."

"If you educate, and you negotiate, and you debate, you can get your message across and you can be successful," Gaston said.

Gaston said to do so, he also needs the help of the people within the district.

"So when I call on you and say, 'Hey, can you call on so-and-so,' or 'Can you call some of your friends,' that's how we get things done here. We work as a team. I'll be the head of the team down there to make sure we get things done in the unicameral by reaching across the aisle, but urban does listen to rural when it makes sense."

Erdman said as a farmer for 40 years, he understands the regulations put upon them and the burdens they bring. He said we will be listening to the district's voices and representing their issues.

"And I understand what your issues are because I've been in the trenches," Erdman said.

Erdman said agriculture is number one in the state, and unless something is done regarding property tax, there won't be a need for a "right to farm" bill.

"Because there won't be no farmers," he said. "And so we need someone who will go into the legislature and share with them the unfair burden that the taxes have placed on the rural people in agriculture."

One question concerned the use of Tax Increment Financing (TIF) at the county level.

TIF funds are a public financing method that is predominantly used as a subsidy for redevelopment, infrastructure, and other community-improvement projects. A TIF district is established and future real estate tax increases, along with anticipated tax revenue from the projects, are used to determine the borrowing amount.

Erdman said there is a public misunderstanding of what TIF is, which he said is intended for the "redevelopment of blighted areas that are within cities or municipalities."

"We have been using TIF, in the recent past, to develop ag land into TIF projects," he said.

Erdman said what is happening is when such a TIF project is put into place, the taxpayers pay more in taxes because the project will not pay for at least 15 years.

"I don't think it's a good idea for counties because wherever you put a TIF project in place, somebody pays for the taxes that are not paid," he said. "So I'm a supporter of TIF if it is used correctly."

Elmshaeuser said he did not know how else to say it, but Erdman was incorrect. He said he has been working with TIF to help communities since 1994.

"It is not a tax-abatement program," Elmshaeuser said. "Taxes are still paid on the property."

Elmshaeuser said without TIF, a lot of the communities he currently serves would not have things like ethynol plants and grand storage facilities.

"All of those projects, when TIF is used properly within the state statute, it is an incredible economic and development tool for a community," he said. "I think it's worth looking at."

Popps said she agreed with Elmshaeuser.

"I believe in anything that can help our rural development grow," she said. "And I believe TIF can do that."

Gaston said he also agreed, and Sidney is a great example of TIF at work. He said the city has an extra $400 to $500 million on its tax rolls because of TIF projects.

"It does pay taxes," he said. "Local TIF projects do pay taxes because there's a base, and before it kicks in, everything below that still is taxed and it goes to those taxing entities."

Gaston said many of the TIF projects in Sidney paid off infrastructure costs before the 15-year time period ended. He said TIF is a good way to use economic development to make a project pay for itself.

"But the question was about counties," he said. "And at this point in time, I wouldn't support that, but I'd be willing to listen. I'm not sure what the advantage would be at this point in time for counties to go with a TIF project."

Other questions answered by the candidates focused on encouraging youth to stay in or return to rural communities, difficult decisions they have faced in their lives and how they handled those decisions, whether the legislature is doing enough to cut spending, what the state can do to bring more livestock development, the use of property tax to fund education, on what committees they are looking forward to serving, how being on the legislature would affect their current employment, and whether they support current term limits, the repeal of the death penalty and the current method of valuing agricultural land for tax purposes.

Another candidate forum for the 47th District legislative seat was held Monday evening in Ogallala at the Quality Inn located at 201 Chuckwagon Rd. A final forum is scheduled to be held this week in Bridgeport on Tuesday, March 22, at the Prairie Winds Community Center located at 428 N. Main St. at 7 p.m.

The primary election will take place on May 10. Cheyenne County has nine voting precincts, with five for Sidney housed in the exhibit building at the county fairgrounds, and one each in Gurley, Dalton, Lodgepole and Potter.

The general election will be held Nov. 8.