Lincoln Airport Board Approves Increased Budget

Editor's note

The Lincoln Airport Authority Board approved a 2025-26 budget that slightly drops the property tax levy request. On average, homeowners will pay about 6.5% more in property taxes due to increased valuations. An earlier version of this story had an incorrect headline about the levy request and the percentage increase was incorrect.

The Lincoln Airport Authority Board approved a 2025-26 budget on Thursday that would increase the amount of money homeowners pay to the airport in property taxes.

Although the levy request will decrease — from 2.983 cents per $100 of valuation to 2.970 cents — rising property valuations are estimated to increase the cost homeowners pay by an average of more than 6.5%, which amounts to about $9 on average.

Board member John Olsson said money for infrastructure projects and air service developments were the issues at play in this year’s budget.

John S. Olsson

Olsson

“But to me, this feels like a pretty good balance,” Olsson said addressing the airport staff. “I think you've done a good job of trying to consider two elements of work here.”

The board voted on a tax levy, which was unanimously approved, and passed the airport’s annual budget in a 4-1 vote. Although previous years have seen more significant changes to the levy the board is largely maintaining the current levy as it gears up for projects, including a major runway replacement.

The Lincoln City Council will get the final say on approving the airport's budget sometime later this summer.

Budget and taxes

The airport’s budget includes expected revenue of about $28.9 million, including the tax revenue. The budget also details operating expenses of $17.2 million, which doesn’t include projects funded by the tax levy.

The tax levy and LNK Enterprise Park are the largest contributors to the airport’s budget and each generate over $10 million.

The change in the tax levy to 2.970 cents per $100 in valuation means that the owner of a home worth $311,267 — the average assessed value of an existing home in Lancaster County based on a projected 7% property value increase for 2025 — would pay about $95 to support the airport, which is up about $9 from 2024 when the average value of a home was $290,904.

The rate at which property values increase could change before they are certified at the end of the summer. In the past, the airport has adjusted its tax rate to match its funding goal.

The revenue of about $28.9 million is an 11.8% increase, which is largely due to a major runway replacement and other airport projects.

The airport’s runway reconstruction project will be one of the largest projects the airport has undertaken, with bids ranging from $85 million to $111 million.

The airport will be responsible for about $13.1 million, while the largest funders of the project will be the Nebraska National Guard and the Federal Aviation Administration’s Airport Improvement Program.

Marketing vs. consultants

Board member Chris Stokes was the lone vote against the budget. He said he would rather prioritize airport consultants over funding for marketing.

Chris Stokes

Stokes had raised the issue before when he voted against a marketing and branding contract between the airport and Husker Athletics, which allows the airport to call itself the official airport of the Huskers and advertise at some games. He said having the university in the city is a plus, but marketing with the university won’t attract airlines.

“It's not worth diverting millions of dollars towards, versus where I believe we need the money, which is hard-core door-knocking that airline air service consultants would do,” he said following Thursday's meeting.

Stokes said funding could switch after the airport receives more air service.

Nicki Behmer Popp, who serves on the board’s air service and marketing committees, said guaranteeing airports a minimum revenue for their first few years is part of the solution to attracting more air service, but there are also other factors.

Nicki Behmer Popp

Nicki Behmer Popp, 2024 candidate for Legislature, District 25

“You couldn't just go to United and say, 'Here’s $8 million, come to us,'” Behmer Popp said. “There has to be something. There has to be sustainability in it. For them, they want to know that a market is successful.”

She said marketing, in Husker stadiums and elsewhere, is a part of what the Lincoln Airport offers airlines along with minimum revenue guarantees and other incentives.

David Haring, the executive director for the Lincoln Airport Authority, said devoting money to marketing and minimum revenue guarantees for potential incoming air service is important because the air service development team has been having productive conversations at conferences like the JumpStart Air Service Development Conference.

“It is not a ‘Let's just get as much money in there as possible and build that up to go to so and so,’” Haring said. “It's ‘Hey, based on that conversation we had at JumpStart, this is a real thing that could happen in the next 12 to 18 months.’”

Jeri Winkelmann, director of Administration and Finance at the airport, said feedback from the board led to the priorities listed in the budget.

David Haring

David Haring, executive director of the Lincoln Airport Authority.

“The money, I think, is representative of those priorities for air service and making sure that the funding is available so that when those opportunities happen, we're prepared,” Winkelmann said on Thursday.

In the past few years, voting on the budget has been contentious. The board added a 1.75-cent property tax to the budget in 2021 after years of not levying the tax.

In 2023, then-board member Nick Cusick resigned after a split vote where the property tax was not raised 0.24 cents after voters approved a measure for airports to collect funds to offer incentives to airlines to attract passenger service.

Last year, the vote was split once again, with Behmer Popp, who is also a Realtor, voting against the tax increase and citing increasing property valuations and the impact it would have on homeowners. The board ultimately raised the levy to 2.983 cents.

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