Lincoln, Nebraska
| Lincoln, Nebraska | |
| General information | |
Mayor of Lincoln
Leirion Gaylor Baird | |
| Last mayoral election: | 2023 |
| Next mayoral election: | 2027 |
| Last city council election: | 2023 |
| Next city council election: | 2025 |
| City council seats: | 7 |
| City website | |
| Composition data (2019) | |
| Population: | 283,839 |
| Race: | White 84.9% African American 4.4% Asian 4.6% Native American 0.7% Pacific Islander 0.1% Two or more 3.9% |
| Ethnicity: | Hispanic 7.6% |
| Median household income: | $57,746 |
| High school graduation rate: | 93.3% |
| College graduation rate: | 39.6% |
| Related Lincoln offices | |
| Nebraska Congressional Delegation Nebraska State Legislature Nebraska state executive offices | |
Lincoln is a city in Lancaster County, Nebraska. The city's population was 291,082 as of 2020, according to the United States Census Bureau.
Click on the links below to learn more about the city's...
- Mayor
- City council
- Other elected officials
- Elections
- Census information
- Budget
- Contact information
- Ballot measures
- County government
City government
- See also: Mayor-council government
The city of Lincoln utilizes a strong mayor and city council system. In this form of municipal government, the city council serves as the city's primary legislative body and the mayor serves as the city's chief executive.[1]
Mayor
The mayor is the city's chief executive. The responsibilities of the mayor include proposing a budget, signing legislation into law, appointing departmental directors and committee members, and overseeing the city's day-to-day operations. The mayor also possesses veto powers and represents the city on the state, national, and international levels.[1]
The current Mayor of Lincoln is Leirion Gaylor Baird. Baird assumed office in 2019.
City council
The Lincoln City Council is the city's primary legislative body. It is responsible for adopting the city budget, approving mayoral appointees, levying taxes, and making or amending city laws, policies, and ordinances.[1]
The city council is made up of seven members. Four are elected by the city's four districts and three are elected at large.[1]
The widget below automatically displays information about city council meetings. The topic list contains a sampling of keywords that Voterheads, a local government monitoring service, found in each meeting agenda. Click the meeting link to see more info and the full agenda:
Lincoln Airport Authority
- See also: Special districts
Special districts are a form of local government that exist to fulfill a specific purpose within a certain geographic area. This region can be as large as a county or smaller than a city block. Special districts have the power to tax their local residents in order to fund operational expenditures. Although a special district may be formed for any stated purpose, the most common examples include library, hospital, transportation, airport, utility, conservation, sanitation, fire control, and flood control districts.
Other elected officials
Ballotpedia does not cover any additional city officials in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Mayoral partisanship
Lincoln has a Democratic mayor. As of July 2024, 63 mayors in the largest 100 cities by population are affiliated with the Democratic Party, 25 are affiliated with the Republican Party, one is affiliated with the Libertarian Party, four are independents, five identify as nonpartisan or unaffiliated, and two mayors' affiliations are unknown. While most mayoral elections in the 100 largest cities are nonpartisan, most officeholders are affiliated with a political party. Click here for a list of the 100 largest cities' mayors and their partisan affiliations.
Elections
2023
The city of Lincoln, Nebraska, held general elections for mayor, city council, and Lincoln Airport Authority on May 2, 2023. A primary was scheduled for April 4, 2023. The filing deadline for this election was March 3, 2023.
2021
The city of Lincoln, Nebraska, held general elections for city council and the Lincoln Airport Authority board of directors on May 4, 2021. A primary was scheduled for April 6, 2021. The filing deadline for this election was March 5, 2021.
2019
2017
The city of Lincoln, Nebraska, held a primary election for city council and airport authority board of directors on April 4, 2017. A general election was scheduled for May 2, 2017. The filing deadline for candidates who wished to run in this election was March 3, 2017.
2015
The city of Lincoln, Nebraska, held elections for mayor and city council on May 5, 2015. A primary election took place on April 7, 2015. The filing deadline for candidates who wished to run in this election was March 6, 2015. Four of the seven city council seats were up for election.[2]
Census information
The table below shows demographic information about the city.
| Demographic Data for Lincoln | |
|---|---|
| Lincoln | |
| Population | 291,082 |
| Land area (sq mi) | 99 |
| Race and ethnicity** | |
| White | 82% |
| Black/African American | 4.1% |
| Asian | 4.5% |
| Native American | 0.7% |
| Pacific Islander | 0.1% |
| Two or more | 6.6% |
| Hispanic/Latino | 8.3% |
| Education | |
| High school graduation rate | 92.9% |
| College graduation rate | 40.9% |
| Income | |
| Median household income | $67,846 |
| Persons below poverty level | 7.3% |
| Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2020). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2017-2022). | |
| **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | |
Budget
The city's budget process takes place biennially and consists of two fiscal years that operate from September 1 through August 31. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the biennial budget process was temporarily suspended for the Fiscal Year 2021-22. The mayor is responsible for proposing the budget. The city council must then approve or amend the budget. The city council also holds hearings to allow for public input in the budget process.[3][4]
Fiscally standardized cities data
The fiscally standardized cities (FiSC) data below was compiled by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy to make municipal budgets comparable across cities in the United States.[5]
| “ |
FiSCs are constructed by adding revenues and expenditures of each central city municipal government to a portion of the revenues and expenditures of overlying governments, including counties, independent school districts, and special districts. The allocations to FiSCs are estimates of the revenues collected from and services provided to central city residents and businesses by these overlying independent governments. Thus FiSCs provides a full picture of revenues raised from city residents and businesses and spending on their behalf, whether done by the city government or a separate overlying government.[6] |
” |
| —Lincoln Institute of Land Policy[7] | ||
The tables below show estimated finances within city limits. As such, the revenue and expenses listed may differ from the actual city budget.
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Historical total revenue and expenditure
To see the historical total revenue or expenditures as a rounded amount in this city, hover over the bars.[5]
Lincoln, Nebraska, salaries and pensions over $95,000
Below is a map of the nationwide salaries and pensions in this city over $95,000. To search a different ZIP code, enter it in the search bar within the map.
Contact information
Mayor's office
555 South 10th Street
Suite 301
Lincoln, NE 68508
Phone: 402-441-7511
City Clerk's office
555 South 10th Street
Suite 103
Lincoln, NE 68508
Phone: 402-441-7436
Click here for city council contact information.
Ballot measures
The city of Lincoln is in Lancaster County. A list of ballot measures in Lancaster County is available here.
Noteworthy events
2020: Events and activity following the death of George Floyd
During the weekend of May 29-31, 2020, demonstrations and protests took place in cities nationwide, including Lincoln, following the death of George Floyd. Events in Lincoln, Nebraska began on Friday, May 29, 2020.[8] On May 31, Mayor Leirion Baird (R) declared a state of emergency and instituted a curfew.[9] The Nebraska National Guard was deployed to the city on the same day.[9]
2015: Study on city's nondiscrimination laws
In July 2015, the Movement Advancement Project described Lincoln, Nebraska, as a city or county that did not prohibit discrimination in employment on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity via ordinances that apply to public and private employers. At that time, a total of 71 of America's largest 100 cities prohibited private employers from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation, while 69 of those cities also prohibited discrimination based on gender identity. This did not include those jurisdictions that prohibited discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity for government employees.[10]
Nondiscrimination laws can cover a variety of areas, including public employment, private employment, housing, and public accommodations. Such laws may be enacted at the state, county, or city level.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 City of Lincoln, "Government at a Glance," accessed August 26, 2014
- ↑ Lancaster County, "2015 Elections," accessed January 6, 2015
- ↑ City of Lincoln, "2022-24 Council Approved Operating Budget ," accessed August 23, 2023
- ↑ City of Lincoln, "Article IX Finance and Taxation," accessed August 23, 2023
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, "Fiscally Standardized Cities database," accessed August 23, 2023
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, "Fiscally Standardized Cities," accessed August 23, 2023
- ↑ ABC 8, "8 officers injured, several businesses vandalized after protest turns violent in Lincoln," May 30, 2020
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 ABC 8, "National Guard activated to aid Lincoln | Curfew issued," May 31, 2020
- ↑ Movement Advancement Project, "Local Employment Non-Discrimination Ordinances," accessed July 7, 2015
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