Looking Ahead in Wayne

September 20, 2023

City Council Meetings

Regular Wayne City Council meetings are at 5:30 p.m. on the first and third Tuesdays of each month in City Hall at 3rd and Pearl Streets. Name one thing you'd rather do on a Tuesday night than come see your City government at work!

Budget

At its September 5th meeting, the City Council passed the budget for the 2023-2024 fiscal year. The total of the FY 2023-2024 budget is $54,337,210. This includes all funds (general, water, sewer, electric, etc.). The property tax for the General Fund operation will be $1,072,999.61, which compares to the 2022 tax asking of $1,009,364.56. Pursuant to State Law, the maximum levy for a municipality is $0.45 per $100 of property valuation. When combined with the debt service asking, the combined amount for the proposed budget year is $1,175,499.61 or $0.358201 per $100 of property valuation, which is lower than last year ($0.384371). The valuation in the community, as reported by the County Assessor for 2023, is $328,167,247, which is up $38,898,571 from last year. The combined levy from 2022 to 2023 has decreased from $0.419053 to $0.417696. This levy translates that for every $100,000 of assessed value your property has, your tax liability for the City of Wayne for 2024 would go from $419 to $417. This rate includes the general fund (police, admin, etc.) as well as debt service (i.e. streets) and the municipal airport (general and debt). *Your tax bill as a resident of the City of Wayne will obviously be more than this as the other taxing entities, besides the City, include Wayne County, Wayne Community Schools, Northeast Community College, Natural Resource District (NRD), Educational Service Unit (ESU), Rural Fire District and the Wayne County Ag Society (County Fair). The new fiscal year starts October 1. 

Electronic Recycling

The Wayne Green Team will be hosting an electronics recycling event on Saturday, September 23rd from 8 am to 10:00 am along 3rd Street. The drop off site will be eastbound on 3rd Street between Lincoln and Pearl, next to the Wayne City Hall parking lot. Enter from Lincoln Street to unload your electronics and exit onto Pearl Street. This block of 3rd Street will be closed to traffic. The Green Team has secured grant funding for numerous years in a row since 2013 (besides that pesky 2020) through the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy (NDEE) to host this event. The event will take items such as old TVs, computers, cell phones, printers, cords, and more. Suggested donations of $10 per carload or $50 per business load of reasonable size will be accepted. There are also nominal fees for individual items: CRTs (tube) computer monitors/$5, older TVs/$10 (no charge for flatscreens), and microwaves/$15. No large appliances or batteries will be accepted. The City great appreciates the work of the Wayne Green Team and its efforts to make our City more environmentally friendly. 

Public Hearing for Property Acquisition

The City Council held a public hearing at its last meeting to consider the purchase of the property at 1100 E 10th Street (better known as First National Bank of Omaha call center). The purpose of this purchase would more than likely see the relocation of the Community Activity Center to this property. The City has been discussing this option with Wayne Community Schools for numerous months as the school would likely acquire the existing Activity Center and increase its campus for the future. Much more discussion has to be had with how these properties would be transitioned and financed. This public hearing is required any time the City contemplates buying property. No action item was on the agenda, so the Council will likely take a vote at a future meeting. If you would like to know more about the potential purchase reach out to any of your Council representatives or directly to me!

Questions, comments, concerns? Contact Wes Blecke, City Administrator at 375-1733 or by email.