Treasurer Joey Spellerberg Talks State Spending, Homebuying, and More on Statewide Tour

Nebraska State Treasurer Joey Spellerberg is taking his message on the road, meeting with communities across the state to share updates from his office on issues ranging from the state budget to homebuying programs, unclaimed property and fraud prevention.

Spellerberg has served as state treasurer since November after previously serving as the mayor of Fremont. He said the statewide community tour has given him a chance to hear directly from residents and talk about how the treasurer’s office can help.

“I really enjoy just talking to the different communities, seeing the successes going on and and being able to serve through the programs that we have,” Spellerberg said. “So it’s been very rewarding and I’ve really enjoyed it.”

The treasurer’s office is responsible for receipting and disbursing all state funds and reporting transactions to the Nebraska Legislature. Nebraska is facing multiple budget deficits of hundreds of millions of dollars. Spellerberg said his role in the budget process is limited to carrying out what lawmakers pass, but he said his office is prepared to assist when the Legislature returns.

“We are here to support the legislature and Nebraskans in giving them information and empowering them,” he said.

The 2027 legislative session will begin in January. Spellerberg said he wants Nebraskans to stay informed by using the state spending website to review budget breakdowns.

“I really see my job as treasurer is to keep Nebraskans informed, help them understand the process of the budget, put out accurate information, and be a resource for transparency and spending,” he said.

Spellerberg also pointed to new legislation aimed at helping first-time homebuyers. According to the National Association of Realtors, the current median age for homebuyers is around 40, compared with a median age of 30 in 2010. Spellerberg said housing challenges are brought up a lot in his community tour.

“[For] a lot of communities, housing is an issue. Not only the supply but the affordability of housing,” he said.

Starting on New Year’s Day 2027, a new program offering first-time homebuyer savings accounts will be available. Contributions to the accounts will be fully deductible from Nebraska income taxes and will be tax-advantaged.

“When Nebraskans buy homes, you know, they put roots down in their communities. They start building equity. And so what this is going to allow Nebraskans to do is starting in January, they'll be able to walk into a local bank or credit union, open up a bank account, a savings account, and they'll be able to start saving for that down payment,” Spellerberg said.

Spellerberg also urged residents to check the state’s unclaimed property website to see if they have dormant bank accounts, stocks, investments or physical property in their name.

“Our Treasurer’s office works to return that back to Nebraskans,” he said. “And so just this year alone, we returned almost $14 million of Nebraskans money. The average claim paid is just over $100.”

He also provided an update on Nest 529, the state’s education savings plan. Spellerberg said Nebraskans statewide have more than 300,000 accounts with assets totaling nearly $8 billion. After new legislation, he said, accounts can be used for trade school and certificate programs.

“That could be for welding, HVAC, go getting a CDL, the high demand careers in Nebraska...there’s never been a better time to open up a college saving fund, start early and take advantage of compounding. And education is a great equalizer, and we want to encourage Nebraskans to save for their education early and often,” he said.

Spellerberg also said his office has seen an increase in fraud attempts involving state funds. He said the treasurer’s office has stopped more than 250 fraud attempts using fake checks since 2014.

“And we’ve seen an uptick in that. Actually, just this year, we’ve had over 40 attempts and just close to $100,000 of stopped fraudulent check payments,” he said.

Spellerberg said he will continue his community tour later this summer, with stops planned in McCook and Ogallala in September.

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