Nebraska court orders Lincoln to pay $9,150 in charter case

The Nebraska Supreme Court ordered Lincoln to pay the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office $9,150 in costs after the state won a dispute over when three citizen-petitioned city charter amendments should go to voters. The October 21 order records two dissenting judges.

The award is $9,957 below the $19,107 the state requested on September 18. That request included $132 for the original lawsuit filing; the rest was sought as attorney fees. The state’s three attorneys estimated they spent a combined 61 hours on the case, using reported hourly rates of $300 to $375.

That difference matters: the court ordered Lincoln to pay $9,150, not the full amount sought. The October order resolved the state’s request for costs and fees after its successful lawsuit; it was separate from the court’s earlier decision about the ballot.

The dispute was about election timing i

On September 9, the court issued a peremptory writ directing Lincoln officials to put the three amendments on the November 3, 2026, general-election ballot. The measures concern city council term limits, aligning city elections with statewide elections, and voting eligibility for certain residents in the city’s extraterritorial zoning area.

The September ruling settled when voters would consider the proposals, not whether they should become law. The fee order does not change the scheduled vote or decide the amendments’ merits.

City and state disputed the case’s costs i

Lincoln City Attorney Yohance Christie objected to the state’s request. He argued that the city acted in good faith on a colorable legal theory in a novel dispute, and that awarding attorney fees could discourage public bodies from seeking judicial review.

Attorney General Mike Hilgers said the city had an opportunity to put the amendments on the ballot and that the lawsuit should not have been necessary. He said he hoped the award would deter similar conduct. The mayor’s chief of staff disputed that account, saying the disagreement concerned when the amendments would go before voters and criticizing the cost to Lincoln taxpayers.

For voters, the practical answer is that the three measures remain scheduled for November 3. The court’s October order concerns the city’s payment to the state, not the outcome of that election.