LINCOLN, Nebraska (KLKN) – The Lincoln Airport Authority presented its budget to the Lincoln City Council on Monday.
The $25 million plan would come at a cost to the region’s taxpayers.
The airport board approved a budget in June that includes funding for the new terminal, several maintenance projects and a runway project.
To finance the project, the airport proposed increasing property taxes from 1.67 cents per $100,000 of value to 3.1 cents, almost double.
The owner of a home valued at $281,000, the median home price in Lincoln, would pay about $87 under the new rate.
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JoAnne Owens-Nauslar said she is flying out of Lincoln Airport because it is right on her doorstep.
But like many Nebraskans, she wants another airline and is therefore in favor of the tax increase.
“If the price increase creates some competition here, that’s fine,” she said. “It’s a beautiful space and we’re not using it to its full potential. So the logic would be to bring another airline here. Infrastructure is always important. Take care of it before it gets out of control.”
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John Olsson, a member of the airport’s board of directors, said officials are currently working to resolve the issue of missing airlines.
“We don’t have anything yet, but we are actively marketing,” he said. “We have people talking to the airlines; we have people helping us with that. We are working hard on it because people want more air connections.”
A man who picked up his daughter from the airport on Tuesday said he did not want to pay more taxes since most people fly out of Omaha.
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Olsson said the tax increase will help fund priority maintenance projects such as bridge repairs, building demolition and emergency equipment.
He said the airport’s revenue opportunities outside of grants were limited.
Olsson said the airport is trying to make its own money from the industrial park, but that “takes a little love.”
“The gap is a bit big and we just need a little help,” Olsson said in defense of the tax increase.
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Airport officials said all capital projects would go through a public process and be approved by the board.
The city council has decided to postpone the vote on the budget until next week.
