Platte County Veterans’ Service Office (also serving Colfax County)

The office. The Platte County Veterans' Service Office is on the third floor of the Platte County Courthouse, 2610 14th Street, Columbus, NE 68601, phone 402-563-4914, fax 402-564-7460, open Monday to Friday 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The Veterans' Service Officer is Eric R. Mullally, with admin assistant Bev Brunkhorst, per the State's directory (updated October 26, 2026). The office "was created by state statute to assist veterans and their dependents in times of need or to file for all county, state, or federal benefits", and the officer "serves under the direction of the Veterans' Service Committee appointed by the Platte County Board of Supervisors." What it lists as county benefits. The Veterans' Transportation Services van (see that entry); the County Veterans' Aid Fund "To meet immediate emergency financial needs" (see that entry); "Flag holders - For placement on the grave of every veteran buried in Platte County"; and help completing and filing homestead exemptions with the county assessor. It also lists the State's benefits it handles - the Nebraska Veterans' Aid Fund, waiver of tuition, replacement discharges, grave registration, Veterans' Home applications, hunting and fishing permits for veterans 64 and older or rated 50 percent or more, and the veteran driver's licence and plate registry - and federal claims, appeals, pensions, education, insurance, burial, home loans and health care. Discharges are filed with the County Clerk and "are not public information"; only the veteran can obtain his or her own. Two counties. The State's directory lists Mr. Mullally as Colfax County's officer too, at 411 E. 11th Street in Schuyler on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. Platte County's 2025-2026 budget document lists the agreement - "Platte & Colfax Counties, 7/1/2014 - until terminated, Veterans Service Officer Services" - and books Colfax's payments as revenue: $30,860.61 in 2023-2024, $35,903.23 in 2024-2025 and $33,750.00 budgeted for 2025-2026. The Colfax side. Colfax County's own Veterans Services page carries the joint "Platte & Colfax County Veterans Service Office Mission Statement" and the same list of county, State and federal benefits, and gives the Schuyler hours as Tuesday and Thursday 1:00 to 4:30 p.m., phone (402) 352-8521, asking veterans and dependents to book through the Columbus office. Colfax County's filed 2025-2026 budget (0100-803 Vet Serv) sets $44,500.00 for the service - $31,500.00 for administration under the contract, $12,000.00 of operating reimbursements, $500.00 of supplies and $500.00 for its committee - against $36,991.31 spent in 2024-2025. The Colfax Board's minutes record the officer's monthly reports and claims "for services rendered to Colfax County Veterans", list the part-time Veterans Service Officer as a contractor rather than a county employee, and approved the State department's case management memorandum for Colfax County on November 10, 2025 (see the Colfax County aid entry for the county's own fund). The money. The office's 2025-2026 budget (803 Veterans Service) is $172,610.00, against $153,657.69 spent in 2024-2025: salaries, the VetraSpec claims software ($898 a year), $10,000 for Veterans Aid, $20,000 for the van and $5,000 for veterans grave emblems ($4,676.84 spent in 2024-2025).