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Lincoln treasurer: general fund down about $700,000; city aims for $12 million reserve
Summary
City Treasurer Conza told the council on Dec. 15 that the general fund is roughly $700,000 lower than two years earlier and that the city’s target reserve would be about $12,000,000 (roughly 12 months of revenue); revenue streams show modest improvement but remain below long-term targets.
City Treasurer Conza reviewed the November 2025 financial reports and warned the council that the general fund balance remains below internal targets.
Conza said the general fund, excluding certain metropolitan investments, is around $4,990,000 and that the total is down about $700,000 compared with November 2023. "Our goal should always be, and we're a long way from it, but our goal should be to have 12 months of revenue on hand, which... would be right in the neighborhood of $12,000,000 in the general fund," Conza said.
Conza walked the council through individual revenue lines: state income tax (slightly improved year over year but not above projections), municipal sales tax (modest increases), non-home rule tax (improved since last year), and video gaming tax (about $8,000 higher year to date compared with the prior year). He cautioned that some revenue streams are influenced by statewide factors—such as recent factory closures affecting income tax distributions—and that motor fuel and other statewide taxes are not under local control.
Conza said council should weigh fund-balance and long-term debt considerations before authorizing new multi-year capital projects. He noted that a stronger fund balance tends to produce better interest rates on bond issues.
The treasurer closed by inviting questions; none were raised at the meeting.
