SOS Initiative: A Sure Way to Raise Property Taxes, Cut Services
August 11, 2006.

Contacts
L. Lynn Rex, Executive Director, League of Nebraska Municipalities, 402-476-2829
Greg Robinson, President, League of Nebraska Municipalities, 308-235-3639
Mark Intermill, AARP, Associate State Director for Advocacy, 402-323-5424
Matt Schnell, President, Nebraska Association of School Boards, 402-362-3185
John Bonaiuto, Executive Dir., Nebraska Assoc. of School Boards, 800-422-4572
Pat Snyder, Executive Director, Nebraska Health Care Association, 402-435-3551

Property taxes will rise and services will be cut if a proposal to force the rigid SOS state budget lid into Nebraska¹s Constitution is adopted by voters.

Members of Nebraskans for the Good Life, a growing coalition of statewide organizations that oppose SOS, today urged Nebraskans to vote ŒNo¹ on SOS in November. Coalition leaders say that if approved, the SOS lid would be a grave threat to state aid to local government.

Kimball Mayor Greg Robinson, president of the League of Nebraska Municipalities and owner of a small business, said local governments rely on state funds. "If state aid to local government is reduced, property taxes will go up, services will be cut, or both," Robinson said.

"This will harm business owners by increasing their property tax burden and reducing funds for streets and roads. It will hurt public safety by cutting critical funding for firefighters and law enforcement efforts against growing dangers such as meth abuse," he said.

Mark Intermill, AARP-Nebraska¹s associate state director for advocacy, agreed.

"SOS will pick the pockets of property taxpayers across Nebraska," Intermill said.

Earlier this year, AARP-Nebraska successfully fought for improvements in the Homestead Exemption program that will ensure the program continues to help low-and moderate-income seniors keep up with rising property taxes.

"Those gains are at risk," Intermill said. "The SOS proposal doesn¹t control spending that is financed by property taxes, but it will cut state spending that is used to provide property tax relief. It doesn¹t make sense."

Matt Schnell, president of the Nebraska Association of School Boards, said the SOS plan is a tax shift to Nebraska¹s property tax system. "In terms of delivering tax relief, this is a red herring," Schnell said.

Jess Wolf, a 30-year teacher and administrator and president of the Nebraska State Education Association, said all government services would suffer under SOS.

"This amendment would strangle economic development; hurt education; harm health care; endanger public safety; and wreck transportation," Wolf said. "We need solutions to our tax and budget problems, not schemes that sound good but don't deliver."

Pat Snyder, executive director of the Nebraska Health Care Association, said the state already significantly under-funds health care providers for their Medicaid patients.

"SOS would exacerbate this to the extent that caring for Medicaid patients would not be financially feasible unless we reverted to some Third World quality standard, which is where Colorado was headed," she said.

According to the Surface Transportation Policy Project, in 1994, 65 percent of Colorado's roads were in poor condition. By 2001, that percentage had risen to 73 percent. Colorado ranked sixth worst nationally for average spending on road repairs per mile of roadway not in good condition.

"Good streets and roads are very important to Nebraskans, in terms of economic development and our quality of life. The potential loss of funding would substantially affect our ability to maintain Nebraska's highways and to complete the needed transportation infrastructure for our state's economic viability," said Curt Beck, executive director of the Associated General Contractors of Nebraska.

Voters in Colorado enacted a similar measure in 1992. Last year, those same voters suspended the amendment in order to allow that state to recover from the lid¹s disastrous effects.

Nebraska¹s SOS proposal would limit state spending growth to a percentage increase equal to the cost of living, plus the annual population growth.

The following organizations are members of Nebraskans for the Good Life.

• AARP Nebraska
• Associated General Contractors
• Center for Rural Affairs
• League of Nebraska Municipalities
• Nebraska Association of Behavioral Health Organizations
• Nebraska Association of County Officials
• Nebraska Association of Public Empoyees (NAPE-AFSCME)
• Nebraska Association of School Boards
• Nebraska Assisted Living Association
• Nebraska Chapter National Association of Social Workers
• Nebraska City Management Association
• Nebraska Council of School Administrators
• Nebraska Farmers Union
• Nebraska Fraternal Order of Police
• Nebraska Health Care Association
• Nebraska Hospital Association
• Nebraska Library Association
• Nebraska Primary Care Association
• Nebraska Professional Fire Fighters Association
• Nebraska PTA
• Nebraska State Education Association
• Service Employees IU #226
• Sierra Club Nebraska Chapter