Douglas County board to consider major tax cuts for tornado victims

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - Douglas County tornado victims will be getting a tax break, but it’s not automatic.

The Douglas County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday will consider major cuts to property taxes for those hit hardest by tornadoes in April. The reason is simple: If there’s no house, it doesn’t have the same value for tax purposes.

There are 77 properties on the list Tuesday, and another batch to be announced in August.

More than is weeks after a tornado leveled much of Elkhorn’s Ramblewood neighborhood, most of what’s left is the foundation. That’s it.

“We just want to keep hope alive and to show that we’re here for you,” said Ken Gruber with Omaha Rapid Response. “Rapid Response isn’t going anywhere.”

On this day, Rapid Response has its team and some volunteers from CHI Health working on Thom Koneck’s home. They’re bringing everything down to the studs.

“He’s very lucky,” said Thom’s daughter, Kristen. “Normally, he would take a nap before work, and if he would have done it then, the insulation and drywall would have crushed him. It covered his bed.”

Thom — who is deaf — has lived in this house for 42 years. Now, it’s a construction zone.

If he gets the paperwork filled out, Thom should be in line to get a pass on most of his property taxes due to the disaster, because it’s not worth what it was. The county estimates there could be as many as 450 homeowners who qualify.

“Just doing the little things like that is a huge boost to bring people a little more hope,” Gruber said. “For a lot of these people, there’s still hopelessness.”

As the sounds of heavy equipment echoes down the empty streets, the stories of survival — of riding out a tornado — aren’t going anywhere.

“I looked up and saw the roof was gone and I saw [my dad] standing in the middle of the street,” Kristen said.

In this case, a natural disaster helped mend a broken relationship.

“Prior to that, I hadn’t spoken to my dad for a number of years because we were angry at each other,” Kristen said. “Now I’m here helping him all the time.”

Officials say 77 properties will be changed tomorrow, with another 75 still being processed, and they believe many more are on the way.

The deadline to fill out the paperwork is July 15. To do so, click here.

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