The Hope Crisis Center is asking Seward County to up its contribution for services aimed at survivors of domestic violence for the coming fiscal year.
Carmen Hinman, executive director of Hope Crisis Center, and Cait Park, who works in the Seward County area, provided an annual report with their request for county funding for the 2026-27 fiscal year on July 7. No action was taken on the request.
“Our state and federal dollars keep becoming less and less and less at this time,” Hinman told the commissioners. “It has been a real struggle for us financially, but we continue to just push really hard.”
In 2024, the Nebraska Legislature passed LB940 to authorize counties to fund programs and services for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault, partner with nonprofit organizations for those services, and work with other counties, state and other governmental agencies, and private agencies to do so.
Across the state, Hinman said 72 deaths were attributed to domestic violence between July 2022 and July 2025.
But even before LB940, Seward County was working with Hope Crisis Center to provide a range of emergency services, advocacy, safety planning and other programs for those impacted by domestic violence and sexual assault.
Hinman said the funds the county contributes are returned to programs and survivors in the area.
She provided a list that showed Seward County had contributed $13,917 in 2022-2023 and $18,011 in each of the last three years for the nonprofit center’s work in the area. They are now requesting $19,000 for the 2026-27 budget year.
Seward County is the center’s largest county government contributor, Hinman said, followed by Saline County.
Seward County’s 17,671 population is nearly 21% of the population the center serves over the seven-county area, second only to Gage County’s 21,634 population that is a little more than 25% of the service area. Across the seven counties, 684 unduplicated individuals were served.
Saline and York counties each have just under 17% of the area’s population with county populations of 14,555 and 14,356, respectively. Jefferson, Fillmore and Thayer counties are significantly smaller.
Hinman said not all of the counties have supported the program the way Seward County has.
“It has been a struggle for many, many years,” she said.
Seward County Commission Chair Misty Ahmic asked Hinman why not all of the seven counties her organization serves are contributing at levels appropriate for the services they are receiving.
While the LB940 action was helpful, Hinman said it does not insure that the funds counties designate for assistance will come to Hope Crisis Center. The center works with other service providers to avoid duplicating services.
Hinman said among the list of incidents for which her organization, in collaboration with the Seward County Attorney’s office, provided primary or secondary services in 2025, were 89 domestic violence incidents, 31 thefts, 29 child abuse cases, 28 assaults, 15 sexual assaults, 15 violations of protection orders and 12 terroristic threats.
Assistance may include things like financial support for housing or shelter, medical and mental health, food, transportation and other living costs.
Departments offer budget plans
On another financial matter, E911 Director Mariá Scamehorn reviewed her department’s preliminary budget proposal with the commissioners. As with other department presentations of budget proposals, no action is to be taken until the board has compiled all information in the coming weeks.
Also on July 7, Weed Superintedent Tim Kallhoff reported on a property in the county that has had as many as 1,000 acres of farm ground go to weeds. Kallhoff reported that he has had contact with the owner and commissioners asked him to work on a deadline for addressing the issue before the county would take corrective action and bill the property owner for services, but did not take formal action on the matter.
The commissioners also heard reports from Extension Educator Ann Dobesh and Highway Superintendent Jon Regnier.
Meeting as the Board of Equalization, the commissioners took action to amend or leave as is nearly a half dozen property tax appeals presented by Seward County Assessor Marilyn Hladky. The deadline for county property holders to appeal their property assessments has passed and the board, which has been reviewing other valuation appeals, will work through the remaining protests in the coming weeks.
