Taxes & Utilities

TAXES

Aurora, a first-class city, has a mayor-council form of government with a city administrator and city clerk.  The mayor and council members are elected to serve four-year terms and the city administrator is appointed.  The 2020-2021 actual budget is $15.17 million.

Hamilton County has 11 precincts and is governed by seven county commissioners, who are elected by popular vote for four-year-terms.  There are seven town-ships in the county.  The actual county budget for 2020-2021 is $5,411,048.  The county belongs to the South Central Economic Development District.  

UTILITIES 

Energy costs are often a considerable part of any business’s operational budget.  These costs can vary greatly between states, but in Nebraska (the only state in the nation where all electric utilities are publicly owned) electric costs are passed to consumers at low, cost-of-service rates.  As a result, the state claims industrial rates well below the national average.  Nebraska electric utilities are able to offer low rates, in part, because they draw from a balanced and efficient “mix” of generation resources. 

NPPD has a wholesale Economic Development Rate (EDR) for customers with qualifying projects of new or additional electric load.  To be eligible for the lower, incentivized EDR, a customer must be served by an NPPD wholesale customer or NPPD’s Retail Division.  The project must add new or additional electric load of at least one megawatt, have a minimum monthly load factor of 60 percent, and the customer must also enter into a written agreement with the State of Nebraska or any political subdivision to provide an economic development project pursuant to state or local law. 

Electricity  

Aurora is provided retail electric services by Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD). The city’s power is provided by two interconnected distribution substations which are, in turn, connected to NPPD’s statewide transmission system.  The primary distribution system in Aurora is 12.5 kV with looped feeds to allow redundant service.  

Prospective customers should contact Nebraska Public Power District, (877) 275-6773, www.nppd.com, for further information regarding electric rates and service.

Natural Gas 

Black Hills Energy is a retail supplier of natural gas in Aurora. For more information, visit www.blackhillsenergy.com. 

Water & Sewerage 

The municipal water system in Aurora is supplied by five wells, which have an average depth of 213 feet. The system, serving the entire city, has a combined pumping capacity of 5,000 gallons per minute and an overhead storage capacity of 300,000 gallons per day. The system has a maximum capacity of 7,500,000 gallons per day.

Aurora has a municipal sanitary sewage system and a storm sewer system. The treatment plant (activated sludge plant) has a daily capacity of 1,000,000 gallons.  For more information visit: cityofaurora.org.

Internet 

Hamilton County and the surrounding area are served with 1 Gig fiber optic broadband to homes and businesses by Hamilton Telecommunications, a local telecommunications and technology company based in Aurora, Nebraska.  Fiber optic Internet access delivers the fastest, most reliable Internet speeds available for residents, as well as the superior business-class ethernet and data transport services for businesses.

In 2017, Hamilton began a multi-year construction project to deploy fiber to every home and business in the local exchange area, which includes the communities and rural areas of Aurora, Hampton, Giltner, Marquette, Hordville, Stockham, Phillips, Doniphan and Trumbull, as well as areas in and surrounding Central City.  In addition, as one of five founding companies forming OPTK (formerly NebraskaLink), Hamilton has access to a statewide fiber optic infrastructure that benefits businesses operating multiple locations within Nebraska.  Hamilton Telecommunications has the expertise, network and capability to deliver solutions to solve all of your corporate communications and high speed data needs.  For more information visit: www.hamilton.net