WILBER - The latest meeting of the Saline County board of commissioners was one of the longest ones so far this year, approximately four hours in total. And, unsurprisingly, at the top of their agenda was a review of the county's annual budget.

Meeting in the Saline County courthouse at the end of June, members of the board discussed making this review process run more smoothly by having all department heads on hand to discuss their proposals, rather than the current system where they have to track all the officials down if questions arise.

The board uncovered lines in the budget for the county's Emergency Management Services department that had provided for six figures to be used on things like radio equipment and homeland security - but hadn't been utilized in more than a decade.

Responding to a concern from the crowd, the commissioners assured that that funding wouldn't be eliminated, just reallocated to other areas.

"It's not like it wasn't put in the budget, it's just that that line item wasn't needed because he [Emergency Services manager John McKee] cleaned it up a bit. So yes, it was always budgeted, but it's not like we had that money, specifically, there - it's just never been used," Saline County board chair Stephanie Krivohlavek explained. 

"It was budgeted for, it's just never been used," Ray Rohrig, one of the board's two members, summarized.

Complicating proceedings for this time of year is that the county's fiscal year begins on July 1, but specific budget items aren't approved until September.

So how do the different departments get by during that two-month term of uncertainty? Saline County taps into the funds generated through the inheritance tax to create a buffer - the commissioners equated it to moving money out of a savings account and into a checking account to cover daily expenses until a new paycheck comes through, then moving that new surplus back into savings for safekeeping.

The inheritance tax accounts for nearly $4 million of Saline County's budget - but, like all other counties, they're preparing with fail-safes in case that funding eventually is eliminated.

"We don't even know what's coming up tomorrow, much less 20 years from now," Russ Karpisek said.

To that end, the board also bandied about a proposal to establish a county-wide emergency fund of sorts, called a sinking fund, which could be pulled from if emergencies of any kind arise across all departments, instead of a system where every specific department has their own line item for emergencies. Under that system, emergency funds would be taxed and collected, even if it never needs to be used. A sinking fund works differently, which is why it's reportedly recommended by the state of Nebraska.

If nothing else, that type of reserve would be useful if that current inheritance tax reserve goes away - something that will once again be considered in next year's legislative session. Saline County needed to pull $4 million from the inheritance tax fund to balance the budget in 2024-25, Krivohlavek said, so her county - just like all other counties in Nebraska - will need to have other plans in place if that surplus is eliminated. 

"We have a lot of 'what ifs,'" she said. "We'll be OK this year, but we've got to start working real hard to get ready for 2026-27."

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Update: Thursday, July 3

John McKee, the emergency services manager for both Saline and Jefferson Counties, said that line item the board identified is actually a grant-supported fund, which means no tax dollars are levied for it. The board plans to reinstate that specific line item with the requisite funding at the next board meeting.

"So if we receive grants, we have somewhere to go and money can be spent," McKee said. 

He said that funding is similar to provided funds for the sheriff's office, which was a separate - but similar - topic of discussion in Tuesday's meeting.