Several people were in attendance at Tuesday's meeting of the Wayne County Board of Equalization to discuss their property valuations.
Acting as the Board of Equalization, the commissioners listened to three property owners question County Assessor Dawn Duffy on how the valuation of their property was determined and the fact that it was considerably higher than in previous years.
A total of 10 protests were presented to the county and those present included Beverly Neel, Brad Lowe and Marlin Meier.
Neel told the board that the property in question is not livable and no water. It was previously valued at $75,000 and the valuation nearly doubled. She told the board she would like to see that number go back to the original number.
Brad Lowe with Lowe Investments told the board the property in question was a 40-acre tract. He said a portion of that was not farmable and the valuation this year was nearly three times what he paid for the property in 2014.
Marlin Meier said his property has not been updated since it was built and he felt the valuation did not reflect that.
Seven other property owners who were protesting their property valuations were not at the meeting.
Following the Board of Equalization meeting, the commissioners listened to presentations from Adam Endicott with Agri City Insurance on the county's health insurance.
Endicott said the county will see an 11% increase in premium costs for the next year. While this is higher than the 6% increase experienced last year, this was lower than many of the other groups have seen.
He said the coverage will remain the same and told the commissioners that of the 47 county employees eligible for coverage, 42 take advantage of it, resulting in 130 individuals being insured.
Andy Foreny with DA Davidson presented information on the county's finances.
He told the board the "county is in great shape" and also shared information on recent legislation that will impact coming budgets.
Amy Topp, Extension Engagement Coordinator, was at Tuesday's meeting with an update on her work.
She thanked the board for their support of Extension and listed the nine counties she works with. She also spoke on the recently completed STEM camp at Northeast Community College that involved 40 middle school students from throughout the area.
She also talked about other programs offered through the University of Nebraska to youth in the state.
Highway Superintendent Kyle Huff presented an application to the board on a request to install underground line under the road on 861st Road northwest of Wayne. He shared information on what the project involves and board members unanimously approved the request.
No action was taken on renewing the lease for the Quadient Postage Machine used at the courthouse.
Discussion was held on whether or not it would be more economical to purchase a machine to use at the courthouse or if it would beneficial to purchase a smaller unit to use by offices as there is a need for security for the one located in clerk's office when dealing with election materials.
The Wayne County Board of Commissioners will next meet in regular session on Tuesday, Aug. 5 at 9 a.m. in the Wayne County Courthouse.
