The Lincoln County Veterans Resource Center has three employees in an office on Southeast Bay Boulevard away from the county’s other departments.
By Lincoln Chronicle staff
The results of a vote on a property tax levy to fund Lincoln County’s veterans services office is so close that it’s going to a recount.
Final, unofficial results released Tuesday – 21 days after the Nov. 4 special election – showed the levy passing by 15 votes – 7,029 to 7,014.
That’s a margin of five fewer votes than when the last results were released Nov. 12.
The election will be certified on Monday and once that happens county clerk Amy Southwell can officially determine if a recount is required.
State law requires a recount if the difference is less than one-fifth of 1 percent of the total number of votes cast in a specific race, which would be a difference of less than 28 votes in the veterans services levy election.
An automatic recount by hand will likely take place during the second week of December, Southwell told the Lincoln Chronicle on Wednesday.
Turnout in the election was 35.6 percent.
The levy results had been changing since the first results were released Nov. 4. It was originally losing by 97 votes, that narrowed to 34 votes on Nov. 5 and then still losing by 15 votes Nov. 7. The fourth round of results Nov. 12 showed it passing by 20 votes.
Southwell told the Lincoln Chronicle earlier this month that she had between Nov. 12 and Tuesday to sort deal with ballots that had minor issues such as signatures or identification questions. It’s a process called “ballot curing.”
The levy aimed to move the veterans services department away from the county’s struggling general fund to a levy-funded department that would have collected 3.5 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value for five years starting in 2026. That translates to $10.50 a year for property assessed at $300,000.
Hey, renters. Don’t whine about how expensive your rent is when you vote yes for every tax levy. Do you think your landlord is just going to absorb these property tax increases? Guess again. We need to elect folks who will fix the spending problem, not just keep spraying our money at it to enable more mismanagement.
I don’t think that people who don’t pay property taxes should be voting on property tax issues.
This is an incredibly important and nail-biting outcome for our county. The passage of this levy is a testament to the community’s commitment to supporting our veterans, and it’s heartening to see that commitment win the day, even if by the slimmest of margins. The fact that it’s going to a recount, however, shows just how crucial every single vote is in local elections.
While the recount is pending in December, what is the status of the funding and services this levy was meant to secure? Are existing veteran support programs operating under the assumption the result will stand, or is everything effectively on hold until the recount is certified?
Garry, the County budget adopted this summer is effective through June 31, 2026, so the Veteran Services Office will continue to be funded at current levels through that date.