В Небраске спор о бюджете ветеранских служб привел к угрозам расторжения контрактов

Hall County veteran service budget questioned as counties consider ending contracts Grand Island, Neb — Questions about how taxpayer money is being spent on veteran services in central Nebraska have sparked a dispute between Hall County’s veteran service officer and a county commissioner, with some neighboring counties now considering whether to end long-standing service agreements. On Aug. 6, representatives from Sherman, Hall, Nance and Howard counties gathered in St. Paul to discuss the budget. Since that meeting, Howard and Sherman counties have been in talks about ending their decades-old service agreement contracts. Hall County veteran service officer Don Shuda said Hall County Commissioner Gary Quandt attended the Aug. 6 meeting to interfere with those contracts. On Aug. 10, Shuda sent a letter to the Hall County commissioners saying Quandt has no authority because he is not the chairperson elected to speak for the commissioners office. “He wants to see in my opinion the contracts go away. He claims to support the community and worry about taxpayer dollars. By going away with these contracts he will force the counties to raise tax dollars,” Shuda said. Quandt responded by saying he supports contracts and working with counties, but believes tax dollars are being wasted and the agreements need to be adjusted. He also said $600 in cemetery funds are going into Shuda’s pockets each month. The cemetery was dedicated in 2025, but payments and construction are still ongoing because a bell tower remains incomplete. “I was invited to the meeting by a commissioner at Howard County, Mr Luca Savage. Karen Bredhauer and I were invited to come to the meeting and all the information that was provided to Howard, Nance, and Sherman County were all public documents. A lot of them were taken from Hall counties budget books. I was not planning on speaking but Mr. Shuda wanted me to come up to the front where he was sitting and speak and this is all on Mr. Shuda,” Quandt said. Shuda said the bell tower will be finished shortly and that he hopes it makes the community proud.