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Lincoln presents $316M/$334M two‑year budget; public safety, Water 2.0 and central library drive increases
Summary
City budget director John Carlson presented a proposed two‑year tax‑funded budget of roughly $316 million in year one and $334 million in year two, with public safety consuming about 57%–58% of tax‑funded spending and investments in Water 2.0, a repurposed central library, street projects and modest utility rate increases.
City budget staff on Aug. 3 outlined a proposed two‑year operating budget that would invest heavily in public safety, infrastructure and neighborhood services while holding the city property‑tax rate steady.
"Total community in the tax‑funded budget in the 1st year is a little over $316,000,000. In the 2nd year, it's proposed $334,000,000," John Carlson, a mayor's office budget lead, told the City Council and residents. Carlson said public safety accounts for about 57% of the tax‑funded budget in year one and 58% in year two, and highlighted additions funded by federal SAFER grants and other sources.
The presentation laid out targeted capital and one‑time investments: continued funding for Water 2.0 (a multi‑year effort to secure a second water source), a major downtown library repurposing project paid with a mix of municipal bonds and private philanthropy, and continued street and multimodal investments under the Lincoln on the Move program. Carlson said the tax‑funded budget increases by approximately 4.6% in year one and 5.7% in year two compared with the prior year.
Carlson also explained rate and fee changes tied to enterprise operations. He said the proposed budget includes modest annual increases in water and wastewater rates — roughly 5% each year — translating to an average monthly household increase of about $1.76 in year one and $1.85 in year two for water, with wastewater adding a comparable amount. He said those steady increases support replacement of aging mains, lead‑service‑line removals and new capacity tied to the city’s growth.
The city also described how some personnel costs were reclassified for transparency: a number of positions previously funded by grants or donations were moved into standard personal‑services tables, which shows up as an apparent increase in department line items even though “that money already exists,” Carlson said.
