Council Approves 2019-2020 Budget

The Sidney City Council on Sept. 10 approved the proposed 2019-2020 budget.

The budget calls for an Operating Budget of almost $28.3 million, down 1 percent from this year.

The property tax request is down 2 percent from $2,451,106.38 to $2,399,056. Valuation for the city of Sidney decreased by 11 percent, from $461,171,073 to $409,136,261.

The top budgets for the City are Electric ($10,637,322), Water ($2,752,517), Police ($1,669,086), Solid Waste ($1,652,224), Sewer ($1,368,960), Golf ($769,418), Special Projects fund (652,591), (LB840 Economic Development ($595,000) and Library at $494,810.

The debt serving fund totals about $2.2 million to pay debts on the Aquatic Center, JESWA, 2014 bonds, 2016 bonds and 2017 bonds and the Solid Waste Series 2018A bond.

In other business, Economic Development Director Melissa Norgard announced plans for a career fair in October. The career fair is planned as a collaboration between Paula Abbot at Western Nebraska Community College and Lisa Laws with the Sidney office of the Nebraska Department of Labor. She said there are also local businesses interested in participating in the event. She said Sidney has seen 430 jobs created in the last 28 months. With that the next challenge is finding available workers.

Sidney finds itself in a unique if not unanticipated situation: skilled and available workers. Norgard told the city council with UST-Xpansion increasing its staff and other ventures opening, Sidney and the surrounding area needs to look at creative ways to recruit potential employees. One of the ways under consideration is collaboration with other similar challenges. Norgard told the council the Panhandle communities — including Sidney are Scottsbluff — are considering sharing resources in promoting the area at regional colleges and events. She said the focus is to recruit from other areas that do not have the job opportunities Sidney has.

The council approved a resolution in support of the Cheyenne County Chamber of Commerce applying for a Federal Assistance grant from the Nebraska Game and Parks Land and Water Conservation Fund. The grant would be for the proposed Hickory Street Square project.

The city council also approved continuing its relationship with Panhandle Area Development District and the Panhandle Resource Conservation and Development, Inc.