Lincoln council advances six tentative budget changes; two fail

Lincoln’s 2026-28 city budget remains under consideration after the City Council advanced six tentative changes and rejected two others on July 20. The actions positioned several programs and projects for possible funding, but they did not adopt the city budget.

The next major opportunity for public input is a budget hearing scheduled for 3 p.m. Monday, August 3, in City Council Chambers. The council could still revise the tentative changes before the scheduled August 24 adoption vote.

The city’s revised list of council tentative changes records six approvals and two 3-3 failures from the July 20 action.

Six tentative changes advanced

The council approved the following items for further consideration in the budget process:

• $150,000 for Northeast Police Station security. The one-time General Fund reserve allocation would support security improvements at the station. The vote carried 5-0, and the funding does not mean the work has been completed.
• $750,000 for pool maintenance and repair reserves. The one-time allocation would add to the city’s Pool Maintenance and Repair Contingency Fund for major or unexpected aquatics work. The amended motion and the original motion as amended both carried 6-0.
• $150,000 for pedestrian improvements near the Adams Street bridge. The Lincoln Transportation & Utilities capital-improvement funding would support design and engineering for sidewalk and crosswalk improvements near the bridge over Interstate 180. The vote carried 6-0; no construction is established by the tentative action.
• $75,000 for an Air Park/NW 48th Street subarea plan. The proposed funding would support an update to neighborhood planning documents used in future land-use and development discussions. The vote carried 6-0.
• $185,000 for an aquatics facilities assessment. The proposed Parks & Recreation funding would examine the condition and needs of city aquatic facilities. The vote carried 4-2.
• $15,000 for a fresh-produce farmers-market pilot. The proposed Urban Development funding would support development of a pilot intended to help neighborhood farmers markets improve access to locally produced fresh food. The vote carried 5-1.

Most of the approved items would use one-time General Fund reserve dollars, while the Adams Street bridge item would use Lincoln Transportation & Utilities capital-improvement funding. The financial effects remain subject to final council action and the adopted budget.

Two proposals failed on 3-3 votes

The council did not advance an $82,500 proposal for the Tax Credit Alliance of Nebraska. The program helps low-income families prepare tax returns and receive refunds. The proposed city money would have served as a match for other anticipated private philanthropic funds, but the motion failed 3-3.

A separate $152,000 proposal to fund repairs needed to reopen Meadow Lane Pool also failed 3-3. That vote does not establish that the pool will reopen, and no reopening decision is included in the tentative changes approved by the council.

Pool funding involves three separate decisions

Residents should distinguish among the three pool-related items. The $750,000 reserve proposal concerns general maintenance and repair needs. The $185,000 proposal would fund an assessment of aquatics facilities. The failed $152,000 Meadow Lane Pool request specifically targeted repairs needed for reopening.

Advancing the maintenance reserve or assessment does not reopen Meadow Lane Pool, authorize specific repairs, or guarantee future operating funds.

What happens next

The city’s 2026-28 City Council budget calendar listed July 27 for the first reading of the budget resolution. The calendar schedules the public hearing for August 3 at 3 p.m., submission of proposed final council changes by 3 p.m. August 7, discussion of those changes on August 10, and final-change votes on August 12. Budget adoption is scheduled for August 24.

Those dates describe the planned process, not a guarantee that every step will occur without changes. Until the final adoption vote, Lincoln’s 2026-28 budget and the tentative changes remain subject to further council action.

The city’s 2026-28 budget documents continue to identify the budget as under consideration.

Sources

• Lincoln City Council tentative budget changes
• Nebraska Public Media budget report