Lincoln city council rejects proposal to pull from reserve fund

Instead, the money would come from a highway allocation bond.

Concerns heightened as the city council met to look at an amended proposal for the cities budget.

The big issue was finding funds for sidewalks, parks and libraries.

The proposal was to take almost 1.3 million dollars out of the cities reserve fund to fill the gap and pay for those expenses but many council members said that is not the way to do it.

“Now is the time to borrow money from any municipality,” council member Jane Raybold said.

Instead, the money would come from a highway allocation bond.

One thing most council members could agree on, was not wanting to take too much money out of the reserve fund.

“We are dipping into the reserve because we are trying to bridge a 12 million dollar deficit right now,” Raybold said.

With so many unknowns when it comes to the pandemic and the potential of a continued struggling economy, keeping the reserve well funded is a top priority.

The proposal to take $1.3 million from the reserve fund was denied in a 5 to 2 motion.