There are three primary ways to fund Lincoln's public safety needs:

Sales Taxes
Options: ​The City of Lincoln currently has a sales tax rate of 7%, or 7 cents for every dollar spent on taxable goods. The State Legislature has authorized cities to increase this rate to either 7.25 cents per dollar or 7.5 cents per dollar. This increase would have to be approved by five of the seven Lincoln City Council members and by a popular vote of all Lincoln residents. If approved, at least 85% of the money from the increase would have to pay for infrastructure (e.g., fire stations, radio equipment, roads, sidewalks).
Amount Raised: Note that even the smallest increase allowed by state law (a quarter-cent increase) would raise about $11 million for the City every year. That's more money per year than the City needs to pay for the public safety radio replacement and fire station relocation plan. The extra funds could be used to pay for other programs or to lower property taxes. It is also possible to shorten the length of time the sales tax increase is in place so that it raises an amount closer to what is needed for just these two public safety priorities.
Cost to Taxpayers: Consider a household with three people and an annual income of $65,000. If the sales tax were increased by a quarter cent, this household would spend an estimated $47 a year in extra sales taxes. If the sales tax were increased by a half cent, this household would spend an estimated $94 a year.
Other Issues: If the City decides to increase sales taxes to pay for its public safety priorities, the following issues must be considered.
Sales taxes affect a larger and more diverse population than property taxes, which minimizes the impact of a tax increase on any particular resident. Nearly 14% of Lincoln's sales tax revenue is collected from non-Lincoln residents.
If the sales tax funds were bonded, property tax revenue would need to be used if sales tax revenue fell short.
Sales tax cannot be in place for longer than 10 years, and most discussion has revolved around a sales tax of six years at most.

Property Taxes
Options: The City has two options for using property taxes:
1. The general obligation bond which requires a vote of the people.
2. Lease purchasing, which requires a vote of the City Council.
Amount Raised: Unlike sales taxes, which can only be raised by a very specific amount, property taxes could be raised to exactly cover the cost of the City's public safety priorities. For example, property tax could be raised to produce exactly the estimated $2.7 million per year to pay for the debt service on a 20-year bond.
Cost to Taxpayers: Consider a family who owns a house valued at $150,000. If property taxes were raised by exactly the amount needed to pay for the City's public safety priorities, this family would pay an extra $25.05 in property taxes every year.
​How was this estimated? If the property levy is raised by one cent it raises $1.7 million and would increase property taxes on a $150,000 home by $15 a year. Making an annual payment on the $34.5 million costs of the new fire stations and replacement radio system would require about $2.7 million annually, or $25.05 on a $150,000 house.
Other Issues: The following issues are involved in the use of property tax to fund public safety needs:
A) Bonding allows both current and future residents who will benefit from the projects to contribute to costs.
B) The property tax allows more people to contribute over a longer period, as typical property tax bonding periods are 20 years long.

Budget Cuts
Options and Issues: If the City were to fund these projects without additional revenue, cuts would have to be made to General Fund programs. In the past, City staff and the public have worked together to prioritize these programs from most to least important. The following list gives examples of the "lowest" priority programs (you can see the full list here: Lincoln.ne.gov/TakingCharge). If budget cuts were used to pay for the $2.7 million annual debt service on a 20-year bond, these are the programs most likely to need to be eliminated or greatly reduced.
-4th of July fireworks celebration ($47,000)
-Senior citizen volunteer programs ($43,000)
-Sunday hours at Bennet Martin Library and Friday hours at all other libraries ($345,000)
-Neighborhood pools: Airpark, Belmont, Eden, and Irvingdale ($141,000)
-Parking and abandoned and abandoned vehicle enforcement ($314,000)