LCNRD shares fiscal year 2024 budget information
HARTINGTON — The Lewis and Clark Natural Resources District (LCNRD) Board of Directors approved the fiscal year 2024 budget with an increase in the overall expenses to $2,493,772. The property tax requirement for the three-county area is $0.027643 per $100 of actual valuation, a five percent increase from fiscal year 2023. The Board is committed to protecting and conserving natural resources through responsible use of tax dollars.
The budget includes funding to continue providing conservation programs to landowners and farmers to implement practices on individual farms. Some of the programs receiving funds in LCNRD include Sealed Well Abandonment Program, Deep Soil Sampling program, Buffer Strip Program, Habitat Program, Bow Creek Project, Bazile Creek Project, and Tree Planting Program. LCNRD budgets for programs to address water quality and quantity within the district and funding is set aside for the maintenance of flood and erosion control structures in Cedar and Dixon Counties including the Aowa Creek Watershed. The board of directors is also setting aside funds to facilitate projects to benefit South Creek Watershed in Dixon County or Bazile Creek Watershed in Knox County. LCNRD partners with state and/or federal agencies for funding support to many of these programs.
LCNRD administers additional funding provided by the Nebraska Soil and Water Conservation Cost Share Program and utilizes grant funds from the Nebraska Environmental Trust, U.S. Geological Survey, Nebraska Dept of Natural Resources, and the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy to expand groundwater and surface water protection and to implement best management practices in the district.
The budget for LCNRD includes operating costs for the Cedar Knox Rural Water Project (CKRWP) whose operating budget is $11,724,878, which includes funding to facilitate changing the surface water source for the system from Lewis and Clark Lake to a groundwater source and to update the distribution system were needed to meet system demand. All budgeted expenses and bond payments of CKRWP are paid by the customers of the system.