Wauneta residents will see no increases in property taxes under a 2018-19 budget passed by village trustees Tuesday.
    The mill levy rate will remain the same as last years, $.499996 per $100,000 of assessed valuation.
    The village’s property tax request will total $111,403, slightly below last year’s $112,639.24.
    The village budget totals $7,414,910, which includes the budget for the village-owned Wauneta Care and Therapy Center.
    Village Clerk Evelyn Skelton noted that Wauneta’s total valuation was less for the upcoming year. It totaled $22,280,760; last year’s was $22,528,009.
    The budget was one of a number of financial matters handled by trustees Sept. 11.
    The board approved Ameritas Investment Corp. of Lincoln to provide interim financing for the village’s $ 3 million project aimed at reducing the level of arsenic in local drinking water.
    Skelton told trustees there were three options for interim financing, which will allow the project to begin until money comes in from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
    The village is borrowing $1,485,000 from the USDA for the project, with another $1,559,000 coming from a USDA grant, which will not have to be paid back. The remaining $116,000 is the village’s own contribution. The interim financing will cover the loan portion and will be repaid once the loan money actually arrives.
    One of the options was to borrow the money from Western States Bank in Wauneta, a choice favored by Board Chairman Tony Cribelli. But Skelton said local bank officials told her there were problems with using a USDA guarantee as collateral for a loan and they “didn’t basically think they could do it.”
    Another option was to use state funds for drinking water projects. But that program requires a minimum level of wages to be paid to all of those working on the project and could have increased the work’s cost.
    Ameritas will loan the village the money for a year at 2.75 percent interest and the money can be taken out in installments as needed.
    In other business Tuesday, trustees discussed possible sale of village-owned apartment buildings located on the west side of town.
    Trustee Page Johnston said a party had contacted him about buying the three two-unit buildings.

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