Should Lincoln’s quarter-cent sales tax for roadwork be extended? The public weighs in

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – The Lincoln City Council held a public hearing Monday about the continuation of the Lincoln on the Move project.

The program’s quarter-cent sales tax contributes about $18 million annually to improving the existing streets and building new roads.

It expires on Sept. 30, but the city wants voters to extend it.

The city said Lincoln on the Move will have completed 65 projects in its first six years, and it said without that money, those projects would have taken 22 years.

City Councilman Brodey Weber said the program enhances the community’s quality of life.

“There are road investments when it comes to maintaining existing roads that makes it a lot easier for our first responders to get from point A to point B,” he said. “And we’ve seen that when we can reduce response times, that saves lives. And so I view this as an opportunity for voters to invest in both roads, in all corners of the city, as well as prioritize public safety.”

If extended, the tax would last another eight years and is projected to bring in about $144 million.

Almost three-fourths of the funding goes toward existing streets, 25% toward new roads and 1.5% toward joint projects with the Railroad Transportation Safety District.

People speaking at the public hearing were evenly split.

One woman opposes the continuation because she doesn’t believe the program does much for the roads.

“We live in a part of the country where streets don’t last, that’s all there is to it,” Jane Kinsey said. “So there needs to be a plan about that, recognizing it. This is a special situation that needs special remediation, and I don’t hear anybody doing anything about that.”

But one man who is a frequent bus rider said this money is badly needed to fix Lincoln’s roads.

“I can tell you from personal experience, our streets on some of our bus routes are so bad that we are beating our buses to death,” Jason Schwinck said.

The city council will vote next Monday on whether to place the tax extension on the April 8 primary election ballot.