Hastings council approves amended 2025–26 budget on first reading after heated public comments over library, Hoopla and a jet hangar

HASTINGS, Neb. — The Hastings City Council approved an amended first reading of the 2025–26 annual appropriation ordinance on Sept. 15 after a packed public hearing in which dozens of residents urged officials to protect library and museum services threatened by budget cuts.

City Administrator Mark Funke told the council staff had worked to find $360,522 in savings after the council voted last week to lower the tax asking. Funke presented a mix of operating reductions — trimming administrative professional services, cutting training budgets and moving the activity guide to digital only — and tougher service changes that would affect the public directly. “I take full responsibility for, working with the team to meet the requirements of the levy reduction,” Funke said, acknowledging that the proposals would anger many residents.

Speakers at the public-comment portion repeatedly urged the council to preserve Hastings Public Library hours and the library’s Hoopla digital service. Joseph Chapman, library experience supervisor, said the proposal to cut $45,600 in Hoopla funding and to reduce weekend and evening hours — a change estimated to save about $64,000 — would erode access for working families, students and seniors. “Properly informing your shareholders is not a stunt,” Chapman said, defending public outreach the library used to highlight the potential impacts.

Multiple museum and community leaders made similar pleas. Makayla Wright, marketing and PR director at the Hastings Museum, said nearly 33,000 people visited the museum in 2024 and warned that staff cuts and reduced hours would dampen tourism and economic activity. “Support for the museum is support for Hastings’ quality of life,” she said.

Council responses ranged from proposals to find $449,504 in alternative cuts that would avoid service reductions to calls to protect staff and rely on contingency or targeted overhead cuts instead. One widely discussed option was removing or phasing the $750,000 jet hangar line from the coming fiscal year. Airport staff said some engineering work (cited at roughly $49,050 in the meeting) has already occurred; council members proposed removing $375,000 from the first-year appropriation or phasing the project over two years to preserve core services.

On motions and votes: councilmembers voted to amend the jet-hangar appropriation (motion to reduce it to $375,000) and approved the amended ordinance on first reading by a 7–1 tally. The council also voted 6–2 to stop the city absorbing about $18,000 in annual credit-card transaction fees in the general fund and instead pass those fees to customers for most city services (excluding utilities and the landfill) starting Jan. 1. Additional overhead reductions — removing $10,000 in administrative professional services and $5,000 in training/conference funds — passed 5–3.

Funke and other staff cautioned that some suggested cuts (contingency or sinking funds) may not produce real, immediately available savings and could reduce the city’s ability to respond to emergencies. Finance staff explained contingency is a placeholder to be available for unanticipated needs and does not always translate into realized cash savings.

The council also considered Resolution 2025-27 (the annual fee schedule), including a proposed increase in utility dividend percentages designed to shore up municipal cash. After discussion, the council amended the fee resolution to keep dividend fees at last year’s levels and approved the amended fee schedule 8–0.

What passed at a glance

- Ordinance 4809 (2025–26 annual appropriation), amended on first reading to reduce jet hangar funding: passed first reading 7–1. - Motion to pass credit-card transaction fees to customers (excluding utilities/landfill): passed 6–2. - Removal of $10,000 administrative professional services and $5,000 training/conference: passed 5–3. - Resolution 2025-27 (fee schedule), amended to retain prior-year dividend fee levels: passed 8–0.

Why it matters

The votes were aimed at meeting a council directive to reduce the mill-levy impact to taxpayers and find roughly $360,000 in savings. Residents who rely on evening and weekend library hours, museum programming and community recreation argued those services are investments that attract families, employees and visitors to Hastings. Council members said the actions represent a balance between lowering residents’ tax burden and preserving services, though the meeting underscored sharp differences about process, timing and priorities.

What’s next

The ordinance passed first reading as amended and council voted to suspend the rules to proceed to second and final reading; the fee schedule was adopted as amended. The council’s actions could be revisited in future meetings if new information emerges or if councilmembers choose to restore or reallocate funds. The mayor adjourned the special meeting at about 8:50 p.m.

Sources: Transcript of the Sept. 15, 2025 Hastings City Council special meeting; statements and motions recorded during the meeting.