Lincoln residents voice support for Meadowlane pool and low-income tax programs during City Council budget hearing

Minutes before Lincoln’s City Council meeting began Monday, a line of residents waited their turn to sign in for the public hearing of the city’s biennial budget. Dozens took to the podium, sharing their opinions on budget amendments, infrastructure projects and climate resiliency.

More than half of the comments focused on reopening the private, nonprofit Meadowlane pool in northeast Lincoln.

Councilman James Michael Bowers introduced a budget amendment to allocate $152,000 for the private pool. However, at a City Council meeting July 20, the motion to fund the pool failed 3-3.

The first of many residents, Terri Bayne, spoke in support of the pool.

“I just don't want the future families of our pools not to enjoy what we started and how we did everything we could to keep it going,” Bayne said.

Angie Kastl, president of the Meadowlane pool association, also spoke in favor of funding for the pool.

“It breaks my heart to not see kids riding their bikes to the pool every day, missing out on practices, and just hanging out. They lost their place to stay active, and parents lost their place to stay connected,” Kastl said.

Many followed after, urging council members to pass the amendment to reopen the pool.

That wasn’t the only failed amendment brought forward by constituents.

There were several comments on funding for the Tax Credit Alliance of Nebraska program, which helps low-income families prepare for tax season. The program is run through the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in the Center on Children, Families, and the Law.

That amendment, brought forward by Councilman Brodey Weber, allocated $82,500 to help fund the program that helps over 2,000 Lincoln households, according to Katharina Stokes, the program’s director.

Stokes said the program is not funded through the university, but through private donors and grants.

Eve Brank, director of the Center on Children, Families, and the Law, also attended the public hearing, commenting on the benefits of the program.

“This is also a data-driven program that helps vulnerable populations. We have targeted outreach. It reaches the community's most vulnerable populations: low-income working families, elderly residents, college students managing complex educational expenses, and international or multilingual neighbors,” Brank said.

Other comments focused on climate initiatives in the budget, aging partners and Lincoln Transportation and Utilities’ projects.

The nearly $651 million, two-year budget has increased at a steady rate – around 6.4% since the 2023 fiscal year.

Jon Carlson from the city’s budget office touted public safety successes and Lincoln’s rankings among other major cities to start the hearing. Public safety is the largest portion of the tax-funded budget, making up 57% in the first year and 58% in the second.

He also addressed the city’s revenue streams. Sales tax makes up 35% of the budget – and the city is seeing steady growth of that revenue source. The other large chunk of revenue comes from property tax, making up 34% of the budget.

Carlson also highlighted the city’s levy rate for Lincoln property owners. The city will maintain its levy at 0.29732 per $100 of valuation, which means it will collect around $247 million in property taxes for the two-year budget.

However, that doesn’t mean Lincolnites will pay less in property taxes. That’s because of a 4.6% increase in average valuations, according to the county assessor’s preliminary property valuations.

“The city is 18 percent of the property taxes that you do pay in order to create investment and continue to grow our city and do good things together,” Carlson said, referring to the percentage of a property owner’s taxes that go to fund city operations.

The City Council will vote on the budget Aug. 24 before the new fiscal year begins Sept. 1.