A new person will lead the Woodbury County Board of Supervisors in 2025, with the pick of Dan Bittinger to be chairman for the year.
Bittinger succeeds Matthew Ung in the chairman position, who held that post for the last two years. In a Thursday afternoon meeting, Bittinger was nominated by Supervisor Mark Nelson, as he said Bittinger did well in the vice chairman post last year.
Nelson said Bittinger was ready to lead the county, and he was selected on a 4-1 vote. The dissenting vote came from Ung, who said Bittinger is good in private discussions, but has not been so in public county meetings.
“He is unreliable in public…He struggles to make and defend decisions unless there is unanimous support,” Ung said.
Bittinger did not respond to Ung’s comments, and said he is ready to serve the county well as chairman.
The county board has five members, and two new officeholders were sworn in Tuesday, December 31, at the Woodbury County Courthouse. The new members are Kent Carper, a businessman and minister, and Dave Dietrich, a military member.
Also in the Thursday meeting, Supervisor Nelson was selected as vice chairman for the 2025 year.
Also this year, there is a new Woodbury County Auditor, as Republican Michelle Skaff took office after defeating Pat Gill, who held the position for the last 28 years. County Sheriff Chad Sheehan also is back for a second four-year term, as winning re-election in unopposed fashion on the November ballot.
*Additionally, Nebraska’s minimum wage was increased on New Year’s Day.
Advocates say the increase will help low-income workers, while critics say it could raise prices for consumers.
The minimum wage in Nebraska has changed from the previous $12 per hour to $13.50.
Nebraska voters approved a series of $1.50 an hour increases in 2022. The wage will increase again, to $15 an hour in 2026. After that, it will increase with inflation.
Ken Smith of Nebraska Appleseed, which supported the increase, said the increase will help more than just people who earn the minimum wage. Smith says it will have a “ripple effect” by raising wages for other employees whose employers want to attract and keep them, by offering above-minimum wages.
Ansley Fellers of the Nebraska Grocery Industry Association, which opposed the increase, said grocers indicate they could cope with the last wage hike, but this one means some will cut back hours for workers.
"So they're very concerned they're going to have to pass along the increases, or maybe cut back employees, continue to cut back hours of operation, that sort of thing,” Fellers said.
The increase doesn’t affect tipped workers. Their minimum wage is still $2.13 an hour, although employers are supposed to make sure the total, including tips, equals or exceeds the state minimum wage.
*And another new law went into effect on January 1 in Nebraska, which gives people more control over their personal information online.
The Nebraska Data Privacy Act allows consumers to access, correct or delete the data companies collect about them. It also enables people to opt out of their data being sold to other companies or third parties.
Nebraskans can download a universal opt out mechanism on a web browser, which automatically sends a signal to websites that they don’t want their data being sold. Companies can no longer ignore these opt out requests due to the new law.
*In other news, All Iowans who pay the state income tax now pay a single rate of 3.8 percent, as of January 1.
The state’s Republican majority in the Iowa Legislature started setting personal income tax cuts in motion in 2018, when the top rate was just shy of 9 percent. Republican lawmakers sped up their tax cuts over time, culminating in the 3.8% income tax rate.
State economic forecasters say the tax cuts mean the state will bring in less revenue next budget year than it spent this year.
But Republican Senate President Amy Sinclair says lower taxes are important, especially when Iowans are dealing with high food prices.
Democrats have said the tax cuts favor wealthy Iowans and could jeopardize funding for state services like education and health care.
