Vote Bill Bowes

Our current system punishes homeowners for making a smart investment and then holding onto that investment as a wealth-building tool. We must stop punishing people for owning a home. Your property valuation for taxes should be based on what you paid for your home, not based on what others pay for their homes. The only way we can fix our property tax system is to change how your land is valued for tax purposes. Fixing our valuation and tax system will be my top priority.

Here in Papillion and La Vista we are blessed with great public schools. I will always fight to ensure our public schools have the tools they need to give our children a world-class education. I also support providing families with options for their students. Whether they choose college or trade school, or they immediately enter the workforce, making sure our students are prepared for the future will always be a priority for me.

Before my retirement in 2023, I spent 38 years serving our communities as a member of the fire service. In 2006, I was appointed the second full-time Chief of the Papillion Fire Department, and in 2010 I oversaw the transition from a combination (volunteer and career) fire service to a full-time professional fire department. In 2014, as Fire Chief, I played a key role in the merger of the Papillion and La Vista Fire Departments, helping to form a model public safety organization for the protection of the fastest growing metropolitan area in Nebraska at the time.

As Papillion La Vista Fire Chief, I have worked with all area first responders and emergency agencies. This experience makes me uniquely qualified to make sure our Sheriff, police departments, fire services, hospitals, emergency management and public works have everything they need to keep us safe and respond to critical emergency events and disasters.

Our state does not have a revenue problem; we have a spending problem. In just one year, Nebraska went from having a large budget surplus for the 2023-2025 budget to needing to close a $262 million budget shortfall heading into the 2025-2027 budget cycle. This is unacceptable.

As the Papillion-La Vista Fire Chief I oversaw the transition from mostly volunteer service to a full-time professional fire-and-rescue service. I also oversaw the merger of the Papillion and La Vista Fire Departments. I helped draft and manage responsible budgets that assured our public safety while being mindful of our taxpayer dollars. It is noteworthy that my department came in under budget every year I was Chief.

We work hard for our money, and I will not let government waste our tax dollars. I will fight to cut government spending by ending wasteful government programs, eliminating duplication of services with municipal and county governments, and by promoting programs that improve service and efficiency in government. I will push for the use of performance audits for every government agency to help find savings and eliminate waste.

I am a common-sense conservative who will never waiver on the importance of maintaining a conservative value system and approach to Government.