The Lincoln Chamber of Commerce encourages you to vote on May 13. In order to provide for a more educated electorate, we have provided information on this page regarding the Chamber’s position on issues, as well as, information gathered from candidate questionnaires.

Lancaster County Jail Bond : The Lincoln Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors passed a resolution of support for using long-term bond financing to pay for a new county jail.

Under current state law, counties cannot finance projects for more than 10-years without consent of the voters. Lancaster County Commissioners have made it clear to the Lincoln Chamber that they plan to build a jail regardless of whether or not the public wants it built. During the process, County Commissioners agreed to give the citizens of the county the option of financing the jail over a longer period of time. Therefore, the option on the May ballot will be to vote for a bond and tax to finance a new $65 million jail over 10 years, or against a bond and tax to finance a jail over a 26 year period. . The deciding factor in the Board’s resolution was the county’s levy projections without the passage of the bond. With the bond, the county will issue a static two-cent increase outside their normal levy lid over the 26-year period. Without it, that increase will be four-cents next year and a possible 9-to-13 cent increase over the next 10-years.

Amendment 1: The Lincoln Chamber of Commerce supports the passage of amendment 1. The amendment would allow public endowments created by a gift, bequest, or sale of public asset to diversify their investments. Under the constitution, public endowments are currently prohibited from investing in stocks. The Chamber’s Board believes that with a broader array of options, these endowments could earn a better rate of return.

City Charter Revision Relating to Purchasing Limits on Street Improvement Contracts: Current City Charter language states all street improvement contracts above $25,000 be put out to competitive bid. Current Charter language also states the mayor must sign-off on these contracts. This change would bump that level up to $100,000. The change simply reflects inflation since this language was originally passed. This Charter Revision did not receive any opposition during its run though the public process.