Duane A. Lienemann, UNL Extension Educator,
Webster County
October 19, 2012 Edition
Unless you live under a cabbage leaf, you probably are very much aware that this is an election year. You can hardly not know it, with the barrage of mailings, robo-calls and the continuous barrage of political advertisements on television and radio. I personally can’t wait till this thing is over and we can get back to the normal – boring adds and lame commercials. Don’t worry, I am not going to go into some political discussion on who you should vote for, or go on some sort of politically incorrect rant. However, this election cycle does bring back some bad memories from the primary election in May of 2008 when I witnessed something that I thought I would never see. I want to see if anyone else remembers.
These bad memories stemmed from when Webster County residents voted down the tax mill levy allocation that our fair board filed to fund the county fair. The levy allocation failure could have ultimately doomed the Webster County Fair. The request, which was listed on the ballot as the "Agricultural Association Tax Levy Allocation", failed 464-403. If it had passed, the levy would have funded the Webster County Fair for the fiscal years of 2008-2012. This levy is there to provide money to keep up the fairgrounds, provide the entertainment and amenities for fairgoers and more importantly to me to provide funding for the 4-H and FFA kids in the form of premiums, judges fees and everything it takes to put on our historical county fair. Can you even visualize not having the annual celebration for our county that is the Webster County Fair? That is what we faced, much to the chagrin of our youth and our 4-H and FFA leaders and families.
Since it failed last time around, the Webster County Agriculture Association, or otherwise known as the Webster County Fairboard, had to scramble to find funding for the 2008 fair which came in the form of emergency funds from the county budget, as we had commitments we could not just walk away from. However, the agreement with the Webster County Board of Commissioners was for one year only, so our 4-H and FFA families and other concerned citizens were forced to create and circulate a petition so the levy allocation issue could be put on the November ballot --- and may I add, at a significant cost to the Fair Board. We all worked to get enough signatures to put the issue on the November ballot and it wasn’t really too hard when people figured out what had happened. They just needed to be educated in what it was for and to find out that it wasn’t something new. In reality this request has been the standard for many years and I don’t think that the fair board has ever used the entire amount, so I could not figure out why this was even an issue. I could not believe it!
When I first heard that the tax levy had not passed, I was very discouraged by the apparent lack of support for the county's 4-H and FFA youth and for our beloved Webster County Fair. I know that I was not alone in this, as a lot of people, including individuals in our extension office, fair board members and other volunteers who give of themselves every year to put on the fair, took it as a big "slap in the face". However, after talking to people around the county, we found that the levy failed simply because voters did not realize that the "Webster County Agricultural Association" is the formal name for the Webster County Fair Board, and that the ballot was really "to fund, or not to fund the Webster County Fair”. Everybody I have talked to didn't know what they were voting for, or against. There really was a lot of support for the fair and for the youth! The November vote was overwhelmingly in favor of the funding of our Webster County Fair!
Why do I bring this up? It is four years later and the funding for our Ag Association is on the ballot again. Our voters will once again be given the opportunity to fund, or not fund, our annual county celebration which is the Webster County Fair. I do not want to have to subject our 4-H and FFA kids and their families to the uncertainty of whether or not they will have a fair to show their static exhibits or their animals. They put so much work, time, effort and love into their projects and it is such a good learning environment, that I never want to lose those opportunities for our collective communities that make up the fair. I also know that a lot of other counties face the same thing and encourage the voters in every county who has funding for the county fair on a ballot to understand what they are voting for or against. I don’t want a repeat of this bad dream, or have to try to tell these young people that they will not have a county fair for the first time in over 108 years!
For those individuals in Webster County, you will find the part of the ballot for this important vote labeled under the “County Ticket” and entitled “Webster County Agricultural Association”! It goes on to say “Shall the Webster County Agricultural Association be allowed to levy a property tax not to exceed 2.0 (Two) cents per one hundred dollars of taxable valuation in excess of the limits prescribed by law until and including fiscal year 2017-2018 for the purpose of general operations and Sinking Fund costs of the Webster County fair.” The wording of the ballot this year is more clearly defined as to intentions of this fund, which may help. However, I know that with the state of our economy; allergic reactions to taxes; so many people not understanding the value of our 4-H and FFA youth program, and what they get from participating in the county fair; that we will need the help of all of you that support the kids and the fair to step up; vote for the ballot measure; and encourage others to join them in insuring that we can continue our fair for at least four more years!
“A vote FOR this tax levy shall allow the necessary funding for general operation and sinking fund costs of the Webster County Ag Association to operate the Webster County Fair” I do not want to even want to think what happens if people vote against this levy. Someone else will have to explain to the kids and their families, I won’t have the heart!
The preceding information comes from the research and personal observations of the writer which may or may not reflect the views of UNL or UNL Extension. For more further information on these or other topics contact D. A. Lienemann, UNL Extension Educator for Webster County in Red Cloud, (402) 746-3417 or email to: dlienemann2@unl.edu or go to the website at: http://www.webster.unl.edu/home
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