An occupation tax approved by voters in May will go into effect Oct. 1 after the Chadron City Council passed the ordinance implementing it Monday.
The ballot language specifies that the 2% occupancy tax on lodging establishments within the city limits will be allocated to parks and recreation projects. City Manager Tom Menke said that could include things such as ball field lighting or replacement of playground equipment. The revenue collected has a dedicated line item in the city budget, but Menke said the FY2024-25 budget, which begins Oct. 1, does not include spending any funds from that line item. While the city has estimated the revenue it believes it will collect, Menke said he does not want to spend money from that line item until they know for sure how much revenue will actually funnel to the city.
The council also approved its salary schedule for the upcoming fiscal year, with Menke noting that there were several changes based on the comparability studies as required by state law. He also pointed out that minimum wage will increase to $13.50 per hour in 2025.
“I do believe we are attempting to have a fair and equitable wage for employees to stay with us and encourage new people to look at the city as a career,” Menke said.
Councilman Mark Graves added that it appears the new salary schedule appears to keep the city competitive with similar cities.