Mail-in ballots due Tuesday

Ballots for mail-in elections being held in Plattsmouth and Yutan are due by 5 p.m. Tuesday.

Plattsmouth residents are voting on two proposals related to the local sales tax.

Yutan residents are voting for the second time in a year on whether to add fluoride to the town's water system.

In Plattsmouth, one ballot measure would increase the local sales tax from 1 cent to 1.5 cents. Plattsmouth City Administrator Erv Portis said the half-cent tax increase would generate about $300,000 per year based on average sales over the past nine years.

If voters approved, the extra money would be used for three purposes. A third would go toward property tax relief; another third would fund economic development; and the final third would pay for sidewalk and street improvements.

Portis said the sidewalk and street improvements would begin in the downtown area but "should also generate funds for improvements throughout the city."

The second ballot measure would remove the sunset provision for Plattsmouth's local sales tax approved in 2003. The sales tax is currently set to end in 2013.

In Yutan, residents will decide whether to add fluoride to the town's water supply. Towns and cities with populations of 1,000 or more are required under state law to either fluoridate their water or take the matter before voters.

Last November, Yutan residents voted 292-265 to add fluoride to their water. Some residents later complained the ballot language was confusing, and the Yutan City Council passed a resolution in July asking the Saunders County Clerk to set a special election.

In Nebraska, all-mail elections can be held only for local ballot issues that do not involve a candidate.

In such elections, ballots are mailed to all registered voters 20 days before the election date. The voter then can return the ballot by mail or hand-deliver it to an election office or designated site.