Nebraska mayor unhappy with mental health center's location

The mayor of Bellevue, Nebraska, is warning that his city could lose property tax revenue if county officials move ahead with their choice for the site of a new mental health crisis center, The Associated Press reported Feb. 19. The nearly seven‐acre property near Nebraska Medicine‐Bellevue would be better used for private development because of its drive‐by visibility, Mayor Rusty Hike told the Omaha World‐Herald , adding that the city of Bellevue would lose out on potential revenue if the tax‐exempt crisis center is built there. “There's got to be a better spot for it without hurting the city's finances,” he said. Hike became mayor after the November election and said development will be a focus of his administration. “Bellevue has been notorious for not bringing in development and wasting our limited pieces of ground,” Hike wrote in a Facebook post about the crisis center's location. “We cannot keep thinking this way.” Sarpy County Board officials hope the center will alleviate the burden on hospitals and the county jail by acting as a short‐term emergency facility where people can voluntarily receive mental health and substance abuse assessments.