Seward County Returns to Revenue Neutral Rate

The Seward County Commission met on Monday evening, and after several weeks and a public hearing, the Commissioners voted to return to the Revenue Neutral Rate of 41.211 mills, with the ad valorem tax dollars needed of $11,574,782.00.

The Commission passed the road entrance policy with the final revisions from legal and the county engineer, and allowed the Sheriff to proceed with an application for grant funding for bullet proof vests. Also the Commissioners voted to allow the Sheriff to hire three part-time positions for special events. They will be paid an hourly wage that will be reimbursed, in full, from the fee collected for the event rental.

For the Landfill, the Commission went with Bank of the Plains at 4.53% on the 2026 CAT D6 Dozer Lease purchase as approved in the 2026 Budget and approved to replace the motor for the Bobcat Skid Steer at the Fairgrounds/Event Center.

Commissioners gave approval of the agreement with Thomas M. Maxwell, Wall-Maxwell Farms LLC , for the building lease for the Road and Bridges Department. The building is located on the Satanta Cut Off.

For the Health Department , several items were approved. The PHIG funds, the current contract with EHR is paid through 8-31-2028. the Commissioners approved an extension that would extend the contract by 2 years ending 8-31-2030. Seward County Commissioners voted to pay for a 5 year, clean and calibration contract with TSI for the Health Departments portacount machine and particle generator, and authorized the submission of the grant application for WIC Funding.

Also, with internal budget restructuring within the Health Department, the Commissioners gave approval for staff wage increases to be implemented on the next payroll cycle.