Lincoln City Council on Thursday approved the Lincoln Police Department’s request to hire a seventh full‑time officer, a move the department said will reduce mandatory overtime and provide more reliable shift coverage.

Chief Giddings told the council the department has been operating with six full‑time officers while two other hires are in training, and that staffing shortfalls had produced “substantial” overtime (357 hours as of the request) and limited leave options for officers. He said adding a seventh officer can be accommodated within the department’s existing 2025 personnel budget and would not require a budget amendment.

The police chief described how current 12‑hour Panama‑style rotations leave the department unable to reassign shifts when officers are at training, on court duty or sick. With a seventh hire, he said the department could add staggered shifts and provide overlap during the department’s busiest hours in the afternoon and early evening.

Giddings presented call volume as part of his justification: he said the department handled about 2,818 calls for service through mid‑May in the current year, compared with roughly 1,747 calls in the same period the prior year when the department had eight full‑time officers.

Council members asked about budget impacts and growth from recent annexation. Giddings said the 2025 personnel line for the department is $494,000, and that filling the seventh position at the posted starting salary of $54,600 would keep personnel costs within that approved total while preserving funds for overtime. He also said annexation and increased construction traffic have contributed to higher patrol demand.

A motion to approve the hire passed on a voice vote; council then conducted a roll call with present members recording “yes.” The council did not specify an exact hiring timeline in the meeting; the chief said he would proceed to post the position.