Last week after the paper went to print Mayor Mark Harkendorff sent a press release saying he had received the resignation from Nussbaum. Harkendorff added that city operations would continue with the Deputy City Clerk and Deputy City Treasurer performing the functions of those offices until the vacancy is filled.

At the end of last week the Falls City Council agenda stated that  Mayor Harkendorff was to make a recommendation to consider the appointment of Gary Jorn as city administrator, clerk and treasurer at the Feb. 17, 2026 City Council meeting.

The agenda listed under Discussion and Action, confirm the appointment by Mayor Mark Harkendorff of Gary Jorn as City Administrator, Clerk and Treasurer. Appointment to be effective February 24, 2026 on a part time basis at a rate of $75.00 per hour with no benefits, to become full time effective March 1, 2026 at same salary as current City Administrator, Clerk and Treasurer with full benefits. First year would include three weeks paid vacation time and will move up vacation scale from there.

Jorn was previously appointed to the position in 2007 at the recommendation of the late Rod Vandeberg, who was Mayor of Falls City at the time.

At that time Vandeberg had noted Jorn’s accounting, auditing and budgeting background skills as critical to the position. Vandeberg said Jorn would be, “an excellent addition to our staff” and possesses the skill that the City “really, really needs.

When Jorn offered his resignation in June 2021, he said it was because he had been contemplating going back to school. 

“It’s been a multi-year decision because I really enjoy my job here at the City. But I’m at a point where if I want to go back to school, I need to make that decision today and not tomorrow and that’s what I want to do is go back to school and further my education.”

 “It will be over 14 years of my employment with the City. Its been a pleasure to serve the many councils and the mayors that I have served.” Jorn stated at the time.

The Journal will update the story once the Council makes its final decision.

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In a letter dated Feb. 3 and addressed to Mayor Mark Harkendorff and members of the City Council, Nussbaum wrote, “After thoughtful reflection, I’ve made the difficult decision to step away from my current role and bring this chapter of my professional career to a close.”

Nussbaum wrote that serving in public leadership had been “an honor,” but said the demands of the position were no longer compatible with his family and long term goals. He wrote that the decision was made with family wellbeing and long term sustainability in mind.

The resignation follows months of City Council discussion regarding proposed wage increases for non union city employees, including the city administrator and public works director. The proposal, recommended by the city’s non union negotiation committee, included raising the administrator’s salary from $95,604.60 to $156,000 in the first year and adding severance and pension provisions. The council rejected the proposal twice, most recently in a 5-3 vote.

In his resignation letter, Nussbaum wrote that he is open to “discussing interim contracted support, if helpful,” if the position cannot be filled by his departure date.

Nussbaum was hired in 2022. During his tenure, he oversaw several infrastructure projects, including the wastewater force main replacement and the Downtown Electric Project.

Mayor Mark Harkendorff said he received Nussbaum’s resignation on Tuesday, Feb. 3. In a press release, Harkendorff said he accepted the resignation and wished Nussbaum well in his future endeavors.

According to the release, city operations will continue with the Deputy City Clerk and Deputy City Treasurer performing the functions of those offices until the vacancy is filled.

Harkendorff said he will submit a name for appointment to the Falls City Council for confirmation at a future meeting.

Press Release for Resignation of Anthony Nussbaum

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The Falls City Council will meet Monday December 1 at 6 p.m. with an agenda that includes action on the disputed non union wage vote taken November 19. The previous vote referenced the wage proposal originally brought forward on November 3. After the meeting several council members and the city administrator said they believed the council had acted on a different proposal discussed November 17.

City Attorney Michael Dunn issued a written legal opinion November 21 that was included in the agenda packet, stating that the resolution adopted at the special meeting was the November 3 version and that the motion and public vote recorded during the meeting control the outcome. The opinion recommends that the council rescind the previous action if it intends to adopt a different wage plan. According to Dunn two members who voted in favor of the original motion would need to request rescinding the motion in order to reopen the matter.

Monday’s agenda lists two wage related actions under old business. One item would allow the council to reconsider Resolution 2025 R155 regarding non union wage scales and benefits for fiscal years 2026 2027 and 2028. A second item would consider the non union wage scale proposal again if the prior vote is rescinded.

The November 3 wage proposal includes higher annual salaries, immediate pension vesting for management staff and severance language for the city administrator and police chief. Dunn wrote that if no new vote is taken or if the matter is not placed on the agenda the wages would remain as adopted under the November 3 resolution.

Agenda items for the December 1st meeting include:

The Falls City Journal will attend Monday’s meeting and report the outcome in next week’s edition.

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Under old business, there were discussions to approve the non-union wage scales and benefits for Fiscal Years 2026, 2027, and 2028 as recommended by the Management/Non-Union Negotiation Committee. At the previous meeting, the wage scale recommendation was rejected with a 5-3 vote.

The committee’s proposal includes a starting wage of $65.00 per hour for the City Administrator in 2026, $72.00 per hour in 2027, and $79.00 per hour in 2028. The Public Works Director would earn $62.50 in 2026, $70.00 in 2027, and $77.00 in 2028. All officials would also receive a monthly stipend of $150.00.

Fouraker proposed a one-year contract with the same benefit package as the previous year and suggested re-evaluating wages after the fiscal year audit. He recommended a wage of $55.29 for the Administrator and $53.85 for the Public Works Director. After a lengthy discussion, the Council voted 4-4, with Frank Killingsworth, Kenny Killingsworth, Kaster, and Fouraker voting yes, and Leyden, Buckminster, Ferguson, and Ruiz voting no. The mayor chose not to vote, so the motion failed due to a tie.

Next, Council member Ferguson moved to approve the committee’s original proposal.

The Council voted 5-3 to reject the proposal. Voting against it were Ruiz, F. Killingsworth, K. Killingsworth, Kaster, Fouraker.

On Tuesday afternoon, an agenda was sent out for a special meeting tomorrow night,  Wednesday, November 19, 2025, at 7:00 p.m. to discuss non-union wage scales. The meeting is open to the public.

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Watts Electric, the contractor on the job, has started transferring individual properties from overhead electric lines to the recently installed underground system. The company is reaching out to each affected customer to schedule temporary power outages as the cutover work progresses. The update states that outages will vary based on the complexity of a service connection and are typically expected to last between 1 and 5 hours.

The work is organized in four phases, based on alley locations within the downtown area. Properties adjacent to alleys inside these zones will be part of the transition. A project map shows the designated areas and the planned order of work.

Phase 1 cutovers began the week of Oct. 27 and are expected to continue for about three weeks. Phase 2 is scheduled to begin after Phase 1 and continue into early December. Cutover schedules for Phases 3 and 4 have not yet been set.

Once Phases 1 and 2 are completed, the city plans to remove electric poles and overhead wires in those areas. That work is dependent on weather but could begin as early as January 2026. Removal for Phases 3 and 4 will follow their respective transitions.

The city noted that Spectrum cable lines will not be removed by Watts Electric and will instead be handled separately by Spectrum contractors, who will coordinate directly with customers.

The project is anticipated to be finished in Spring 2026.

Residents with questions are asked to contact the Falls City Utility Office at 402-245-2851.

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City Administrator Anthony Nussbaum addressed concerns raised by citizens regarding the city’s utility crew. The concerns surfaced following allegations circulating on Facebook about the Falls City lineman offering their two-week notice due to alleged mistreatment by city officials.

When asked about the resignations of utility crew members, Nussbaum stated, “Employee resignations are considered personnel matters and are subject to privacy. The City can confirm when a position is open, but it is typically not appropriate to disclose the names of employees who have resigned without their consent. At this time, the city has posted advertisements for job openings within the electric distribution linemen team.” The City of Falls City website currently lists openings for a “Full-Time Electric Distribution Lineman and Line Foreman (Apprentice/Journeyman).”

Regarding the allegations of mistreatment, Nussbaum indicated that the City Administration has not received any formal complaints.  “I have not received any formal complaints from employees regarding mistreatment. Until a formal complaint is filed, an investigation into hearsay allegations is not warranted. The City takes any claims of workplace issues seriously and encourages employees to utilize existing channels to report concerns,” he stated. He further added,”I have not received any harassment complaints from any employees during my tenure as City Administrator. Additionally, there have been no reports submitted regarding the use of inappropriate language by management or elected officials. Employees covered by collective bargaining agreements have specific rights and processes to address workplace concerns, and no such grievances have been filed at this time.”

In response to questions about recruitment and retention plans, Nussbaum explained, “If vacancies occur within the utility department, the City will work diligently to recruit and train qualified replacements. We remain committed to maintaining a professional and capable workforce to ensure the continued delivery of essential services.” He also addressed emergency preparedness, saying, “The City of Falls City has multiple mutual aid agreements in place with other utilities and contracting firms that specialize in electrical work. These agreements ensure that we can respond effectively to emergencies or workforce shortages, particularly as we approach severe weather seasons.”

Nussbaum also highlighted the city’s commitment to a professional workplace environment and the availability of workplace policies and employee protections. “The City has a formal harassment policy in place, and employees covered under collective bargaining agreements have additional rights to file claims if they believe a violation of their agreement has occurred. These policies provide clear pathways for employees to voice concerns and seek resolution if needed,” he stated. He concluded by saying, “I want to reassure the community and Falls City Utility customers that the City of Falls City is committed to maintaining reliable utility services and fostering a professional workplace environment. If any employee has concerns, we encourage them to follow the established procedures to ensure they are properly addressed.”

Unconventionally, the Mayor made an announcement in a post made on the Falls City Sanitation Facebook page,  “Mark Harkendorff the Mayor of Falls City would like to make an official announcement. The Mayor of Falls City has not Spoke to ANY of the linemen in over 2 years. The Mayor had even gave noticeable appreciation of all the hard work the Linemen and Power Plant has done at the Council meeting held last month in February. There has been various amounts of misleading and false statements. One fact that should be apart [sic] of the discussion is the linemen were asked to stay and come up with plans to work with the city. They then put their two weeks in.”

The Mayor’s statement seems to confirm that the linemen have put two weeks’ notice in with the city.

The concerns had originally stemmed from social media and Change.org posts alleging that the lineman had given their two-week notice after being told they were “lazy and overpaid” by city officials. The Change.org petition related to the situation had nearly 300 signatures as of this morning at 10:00 a.m.

Anthony Nussbaum can be contacted at 402.245.2851 or a.nussbaum@fallscityne.us. Mayor Mark Harkendorff can be contacted at Phone : 402.245.2851 Ext. 213; Phone: 402.801.9415(c) Email – m.harkendorff@fallscityne.us. Trevor Campbell, Public Works Director can be contacted at 402.245.2851.

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Froeschl began the community engagement session by thanking everyone in attendance.

“This has been a fun process that goes way further back than the three and a half years that I’ve been in the role as the EDGE Director,” said Froeschl.

Froeschl stated his top concern when taking the position was the electrical power issues in Falls City.

“We’ve got a big electrical issue right here in Falls City,” said Froeschl. “It’s something that I was motivated to try and solve.”

Froeschl stated that this is the first step in community engagement and envisions many more meetings before the project is complete. Each will supply more details as they become available.

“Citroniq is still working on some of their engineering; it’s not all engineered,” said Froeschl. “We’re taking feedback from all the different stakeholders, and they are challenging their engineers to implement some of that feedback.

Falls City secured a $15 matching funds grant from the Nebraska Legislature in 2022 to help with electrical upgrades.

“We’ve got to come up with the other $15,” said Froeschl. “We are working hard on that, diligently. We’ve made a lot of progress on that. Citroniq is here to help us make that a reality.”

EDGE partnered with OPPD on a site-diligence plan in 2023 and created a marketing plan. With some help from state representatives at the Economic Development Office, EDGE decided to turn their attention to securing BioEconomy companies.

Froeschl stated that in September 2024, the prospect of bringing Citroniq to the area became a reality.

“Citroniq is partnering with Falls City to build the necessary power and utility infrastructure right here in Falls City,” said Froeschl. “The Nebraska BioEconomy Initiative, Falls City, is definitely a part of that. We are looking to create a biochemical hub right here in Falls City that can add value. This bio-polypropylene is going to be manufactured out of ethanol instead of petroleum, and that’s the value Nebraska can bring to the BioEconomy Initiative.”

According to Julie Bushell of the Nebraska BioEconomy Initiative, four things make Nebraska great. “Those four tenants are Nebraska’s people, our water, our crops and our livestock,” said Bushell.

Kelly Knopp, co-founder of Citroniq Chemicals, told the audience that after graduating from Kansas University, he went to Texas to pursue an engineering job.

“Forty-some years later, here I am back in the Midwest,” said Knopp.

Knopp said they have found that by using ethanol to make plastic pellets, the carbon is captured by the pellet.

“You basically capture five times more carbon, more C02, in pellet than the weight of the pellet,” said Knopp. “So, five tons for every ton of polypropylene. It’s very effective that way.”

“We’re excited to be here and excited about this project,” said Knopp.

Mel Badheka said his family came to the United States in 1991 and has been involved in the energy business for over 30 years.

“One of the things that we want to make sure is that we are doing things in the right way and the right order,” said Badheka. “How we invest our money and our investors’ money is important, not just from today’s perspective, but how we leverage that financial strength for future growth. That is all around infrastructure; we are partnering with the Falls City administration to plan out how we are going to do the power, utilities, water treatment, roadways, and all the infrastructure that it needs to support this project.”

Badheka said that given the size of the project, they need to be good stewards of their investors and the community. He said it’s important to leave a legacy for his children they are proud of.

He also gave credit to Froeschl for securing this project for the Falls City area.

“The first time we came here, we were very impressed with Lucas and Anthony,” said Badheka. “Their drive, their energy, their enthusiasm, ingraining us to this town is exemplary. We have not seen that anywhere in this search. We talked to seven or eight states around the Midwest; this is the state where we want to be.”

According to Froeschl, the area is being explored for annexation. 

“We are not certain if it can be annexed,” said the EDGE Director. “We do know there is a statute on the books from about 20 years ago that was implemented for ethanol plants. We are exploring if annexation is an option; we are not sure yet.”

Froeschl also stated that the expectation is that the tax burden to everyone in the county should decrease due to the amount that the investor will pay.

“We are fine with that,” said Badheka. “That is a fair way for us to exist in this community. In fact, we are partnering with the Falls City administration on their $15 million grant. We are going to match those funds as part of our effort to make sure that we build that together. We’re not shying away from any capital expense that benefits the community.”

The co-founders also disclosed that the company has already secured sales for the mega-site.

“All of our sales are already spoken for, for this site,” said Badheka. “We’ve already sold out this entire site.”

Bushell explained that the engagement session is one of many that will be planned.

“The goal is to continue to have these town halls maybe every six months, but certainly every time a new, large development happens in the project,” said Bushell. 

Citroniq plans to have the plant operational by 2029.

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​The theme this year is “Game Night?”  We are hoping to see lots of creative floats involving board or card games. Any business, organization or individuals are welcome to participate in the parade and in the decorating contest by following the theme.  

​Pre-registration for the parade is encouraged, but not required. It just helps the organizers plan enough space for the entries. To pre-register, email Amber Holle with the Falls City Chamber & Main Street at directorccms@sentco.net.  Include the name of entity and the type of entry (car/truck, float, large machinery, emergency vehicle, horse, etc.)

Nominations are now being accepted for the position of grand marshal of the 2023 Cobblestone Parade! The honor is comparable to a life-time achievement award.

Nominees can be individuals or couples who have contributed substantially to the betterment of the Falls City community. Letters of nomination should be as detailed as possible, listing all the reasons why the nominee should be considered.

​To make a nomination, email your letter to directorccms@sentco.net or drop off your nomination letter at the Falls City Chamber office at 1705 Stone Street by July 31st. A panel of anonymous judges will select the honoree(s), to be announced the first week of August.

​For further information, contact Amber at the email listed above, or call 402-245-4228.

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Tuesday night’s hot topic during the City Council meeting included the discussion and action of awarding a contract for a Falls City firework display to coincide with the 2023 Hot Air Balloon Festival. Mayor Harkendorff had requested that the city entertain the idea of hosting an annual fireworks show and it was deemed best to be held in conjunction with the Hot Air Balloon Festival.

City Administrator Nussbaum noted that the city hadn’t budgeted explicitly for this particular event; however, the money could come from the city’s economic development funds.

“One of the economic development goals within the 2014 comprehensive plan was to revive the hot air balloon festival, which the Chamber took on to do that,” stated Nussbaum. “I think this would be an additional feature that would improve that.”

Two vendors submitted bids for two options, a $15,000 and a $20,000 show. Submissions came from Wald & Co., Inc. of Greenwood, Missouri and PayUp$ucker Promotions from Everest, Kansas.

“You’re pretty much talking; a $15,000 show is going to be a 15-minute show,” said Nussbaum.

Councilperson Ractliffe took objection with asking the taxpayers to foot the bill of the firework show on the heels of record-high utility bills.

“Six days ago, our utility payments were due, and for many of us in town, our payments were double if not more than what they normally are. I think for a mayor who had his election campaign run on the fact that we spend ‘totally, totally a lot of money,’ asking taxpayers to spend $20,000 on fireworks, that essentially no one but the mayor is asking for, is extremely disrespectful to our town and our taxpayers,” said Councilperson Kaylie Ractliffe.

“I cannot justify spending $20,000; money that is not budgeted for, out of an economic development fund when there are a thousand other priorities that we have, for fireworks at an event that a lot of people put a lot of time and energy into planning to ensure that there is a lot to do,” said Ractliffe. “There is not necessarily a need for fireworks to entertain people, but I think adding fireworks and asking taxpayers to pay for it is not appropriate.”

Mayor Harkendorff stated many people had shown great interest in the event, as did Councilperson Buckminster.

“I’ve had a lot of people comment that they wish something like this would get brought back up,” said Buckminster. “Fireworks, a lot of money that goes up in a hurry, but it brings the community together and there are a lot of people who really enjoy it but can’t afford to leave town to go see the shows and this puts it right in their backdoors.”

Buckminster inquired about taking up donations in the future if this were to become an annual event.

“I’m sure there are some people in the community who would be willing to donate to this, possibly,” said Buckminster.

Councilperson Ractliffe responded that she has nothing against fireworks; it’s the idea of using public funds for an event that wasn’t in the budget.

“Asking taxpayers to pay for it in a year that it’s not budgeted for, especially, like I said, six days ago, a lot of us had our utility bills raised and that has absolutely nothing to do with this, but in the eyes of the taxpayers it’s going to matter where this $20,000 came from. Why are we paying for it? Especially when everything else done with the festival comes from donations, sponsorships, and grant money. I’m all for fireworks; I just don’t think asking taxpayers to fund it especially when it’s not budgeted for, it’s not the way to go about it,” said Ractliffe. “Everybody that I’ve talked to, they’ve seen the article where this is going to be talked about today and they seem excited about it until they read closer and realize that it’s taxpayer-funded.”

Councilperson Amber Holle echoed Ractliffe’s concerns about the funding of the event.

“I kind of have to agree,” said Holle. “I’d love to see private donations sought out or the Richardson County Visitor’s Committee- get a grant through them. It’s such a big chunk of change to literally go up in smoke.”

Councilperson Ferguson asked if it would be best to test the waters this year and see how things go and next time, maybe reach out to other entities to ask for funding.

“Maybe we try it once and see how it goes,” said Ferguson.

Both Holle and Ractliffe stated that it should be the complete opposite. According to the two Council persons, not doing the show and planning for it next year, with a budget, seemed the best next step.

At the end of the discussion, a motion was made by Buckminster and seconded by Ferguson to approve the $15,000 show bid by Payup$ucker Promotions. The Council voted 4-2-1-1, with Councilpersons Buckminster, Ferguson, Rhodd and Fouraker voting for it, while Wisdom and Ractliffe were against. Holle abstained from the vote and Leyden was absent.

“The Hot Air Balloon Festival is a community event that takes months of planning and many hours of work put in mostly by volunteers,” said Ractliffe. “It is funded by sponsorships, donations, grants and ticket sales. Fireworks were not part of the plan for this year’s festival, but Mayor Harkendorff requested that they be added at the city’s expense. Those of us on the Council who are involved in planning the festival were actually the ones who advocated for alternative funding solutions for the fireworks. Unfortunately, the majority vote was still in favor of taxpayer funding. I hope the community does not turn its back on the Hot Air Balloon Festival over the Council’s decision.”

Councilperson Fouraker also wanted to clarify any misconceptions about him selling fireworks to the city.

“I had somebody come to me and ask me if the city was going to buy fireworks from me. No, I can’t even sell these fireworks,” said Fouraker. “I sell consumer fireworks; I just coordinate to the people that light them off.”

See entire City Council story in next week’s Falls City Journal.

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The error was discovered a few weeks ago in calculating the “power cost adjustment” (PCA) billing during a recent internal audit of customer utility accounts resulting in an overcharge. The audit was part of multiple layer control steps the city has in place to perform routine monthly oversight audits. “The monthly control procedures failed and new steps have been implemented by management for oversight and control to ensure the error doesn’t happen again,” City Clerk Anthony Nussbaum stated at the time.

The refund has been issued as a credit, specifically to the PCA billing line, and is reflected on each customers March utility bill. The amount of credit varies upon the total kilowatt hours (kWh) consumed by the customer between October 1, 2022, to January 15, 2023.

A total credit of $411,753.11 is being issued back to our customers due to the billing error. A total of $170,435.02 has been refunded to residential customers and $221,404.74 has been refunded to commercial customers. In addition, a total of $21,913.35 is included in the refund for sales tax and/or any penalties associated with the PCA billing line item. Any bill payment extensions granted to customers during this timeframe will not affect the ability for the customer to attain future bill payment extensions.

A summary of how customers can view their total credit is as follows:

PSN Customers: The refund is posted and is viewable on your online account. The online accounts will not detail a negative balance. If you have paid ahead and show a zero balance, the credit will be detailed as soon as a balance due is posted.

Level Pay Customers: The billing error did not affect your level pay amount and your monthly level payments remain unaffected. Level pay schedules are derived from the previous 24 months of utility billing. The billing error will be detailed in your billing history to reflect the correct usage/cost for future level pay calculations.

Paper Billing Customers: The refund will be detailed on your next monthly paper bill.

The City of Falls City considers transparency with our citizens of utmost importance, and we apologize for any confusion and inconvenience this issue caused. Additional control measures have been implemented to ensure this error does not occur in the future.

Information previously published in the Falls City Journal on February 8, 2023.

The PCA calculation is performed manually each billing cycle and then entered into the city’s utility billing software. Unfortunately, the manual calculation was incorrect, and the current checks/balances process did not catch the error resulting in an overcharge to our customers for electrical power consumed. To correct the mistake, utility customers will receive a credit on the next billing cycle in February for utility bills due by March 15, 2023. The amount of credit varies upon the total kilowatt hours (kWh) consumed by the customer between October 1, 2022, to January 15, 2023. The credit will be applied directly to customer accounts in February and will carry forward until the credit is used.

According to Nussbaum, the error was specific to the PCA billing for electric power. Electric rates, usage and all other utility rates, including water, gas and sewer, were not affected; however, the sales tax will be adjusted proportionally with the PCA credit.

“Due to the error occurring at the effectiveness of the October 1, 2022 rate increase, the city is also crediting back any penalties and fees that may have occurred due to the overbilling of the PCA. The city operates one month behind on utility billing, so the error affected three billing months,” stated Nussbaum.

The city issued the social media notice regarding the billing error, but the timeline for getting credits issued back to accounts couldn’t be determined “as our software backup files required server mining and coding into the utility software in order to generate the credits,” said Nussbaum. The city is working with its provider, Salt Creek Software, to generate the data and expects that data to be in the system by February 10.

Nussbaum said the department initially thought the data would be posted back into accounts early last week, but the process was taking more time than anticipated. Once the credits are finalized, the city will issue an additional news release.

Customers who are worried about being unable to pay their bills should follow the routine procedures regarding extension requests by contacting city hall. The city is modifying its extension request procedures by allowing any previous extension requests made after October 1, 2022, not to affect the ability of the customer to get another extension until the credit can be applied to their account. There will be circumstances that could yield a shutoff requirement, however, stated Nussbaum, “the bill extension modification will provide relief from shutoff procedures if followed by the customer. Disconnect notices will continue to be sent out to customers that have not paid their bill in full. The disconnect notice provides information regarding relief from disconnect.”

How will customers know precisely how much they were overcharged? Nussbaum said there would be a credit for the PCA line during the next billing month, showing a negative adjustment.

“The sales tax adjustment will be accommodated by the negative adjustment for the PCA and any credit card processing fees that a customer may have paid. There is no set percentage for every account as the credit is based upon the kilowatt/hr (KwH) of consumption on a per-customer basis. The credit will be approximately 2.9-3.1 cents for each KwH used related specifically to the PCA billing line item only. Once the credits are finalized and posted to accounts, we will let the public know. Customers will be able to call City Hall to find out that information once it is available prior to mailing out the monthly bill,” stated Nussbaum.

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