Newport city council approves $134 million budget that trims spending in 2026-27 for most departments

By SHAYLA ESCUDERO/ Lincoln Chronicle 

NEWPORT – The city council unanimously adopted the $134 million budget for 2026-27 during its meeting Monday night, representing a 3.9 percent decrease from the current budget with spending reductions across most departments. 

“It was a challenging year to put together the budget for the next fiscal year because our revenues are staying relatively flat,” city manager Nina Vetter told the Lincoln Chronicle. “We see a small increase, but our expenses continue to increase, just because it’s the cost of doing business, whether it’s buying materials, the cost of staffing … they continue to increase, so in order to balance the budget, we had to make a number of cuts, which is the second year in the row we’ve had to do that.”

Staffing costs increased due to a 3 percent cost of living increase for employees and a 15 percent increase in the cost of benefits, according to Vetter’s budget message. With expenses outpacing revenue, the city will have $442,000 less in reserves – money often used in future years to make up for unanticipated costs. 

The cuts made were essentially items departments have on a wish list like the police department’s goal to update their drones, Vetter explained. That won’t be happening this year, she said. 

The budget included a 2.5 decrease in city administration but increased in several key department services including wastewater, fire, emergency management, library services and parks maintenance. 

This year’s budget focused on projects already in progress. 

The budget earmarked $54.8 million for capital equipment and improvement projects including $2.1 million for street repairs, $382,000 for pump station improvements and $300,000 for an enhanced pedestrian crosswalk at U.S. Highway 101 and Northwest 60th Street. 

Still, more money is needed to fulfill Newport’s long list of capital projects and the city is looking for funds outside of its yearly budget. The council is expected to ask voters this summer to pass a $38 million bond on the November ballot. 

Property owners in Newport are currently paying $1.63 per $1,000 of assessed property value for two bonds that finance the water treatment plant and aquatic center. The proposed bond would not change the current tax rate and would essentially take the place of the treatment plant bond when it expires in 2029 and the aquatic center bond when it ends in 2034. 

Even if the bond passes, it doesn’t completely cover all of Newport’s intended infrastructure projects, which were first estimated to cost $100 million. The city is also considering a public safety fee and a tax on prepared food – although there is no projected timelines yet for either of those ideas.  

The budget was developed over three public meetings in April and May by the city’s Budget Committee, which is made up of seven residents appointed by the city council, the city’s six council members and the mayor. 

Before the city council adopted the budget Monday, each city councilor declared a conflict of interest since they would be compensated after passing a resolution last month to be paid $300 a month beginning in January. 

The 2026-27 budget takes effect July 1 and can be viewed on the city’s website. 

• Shayla Escudero is an enterprise reporter for the Lincoln Chronicle covering local governments, education, housing and social services and can be reached at [email protected]