Half of the funding to fight the recall effort seeking to oust four Lincoln City Council members and Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird flowed from the mayor's holdover campaign account, according to state campaign finance records filed this week.
Decline to Sign received nearly $17,500 in November and DecemberÌýas it worked to counter the recall push, the filings show.
Council members James Michael Bowers, Richard Meginnis, Jane Raybould and Tammy Ward each chipped in $1,500 from their respective election campaigns.
An additional $1,965 came from small donors who did not write checks large enough to require individual disclosure.
Decline to Sign spent the bulk of its money, more than $13,000, on radio advertisements and the rest on yard sign printing and design work, the campaign reported.
LNK Recall organizers upset with pandemic actions taken by the mayor and City Council started gathering signatures Nov. 23.
LNK Recall spokesman Samuel Lyon announced Dec. 23 that organizers had failed to gather enough signatures to trigger recall elections by the deadline.
The filings provided a more detailed look into howÌýDecline to Sign mounted its fight, but exactly who funded the recall effort remains to be seen.
Both campaigns were required to file an annual report with the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission by Feb. 1, but LNK Recall's report still had not been filed as of Tuesday.Ìý
Commission Executive Director Frank Daley said late filings incur a $25 per day late fee.
An update to the city's online map showing its snow plows at work will now let residents peek on the progress of contractors, too.Ìý
Before the snowstorm over the weekend, the city didn't have GPS equipment tracking contractors now deployed to plow residential streets, Lincoln Transportation and Utilities Director Liz Elliott said.
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The enhanced map shows color-coded progress across the city. It is only active during snow operations and can be found at .
Council blocks testimony
Nearly seven hours into Monday's City Council meeting, LNK Recall's Lyon got up during the open public comment period to criticize the council's decision last month to shelve a resolution to end the city's pandemic emergency.
But Raybould called a point of order since his testimony focused on something on the council's agenda, which is forbidden during public comment.
In January, a divided council narrowly moved Councilman Roy Christensen's ordinance to the council's pending agenda without setting a date for the resolution to return for a decision.Ìý
Christensen objected to Raybould's move Monday.Ìý
"In essence, you guys have passed a gag order on the community of Lincoln to talk about this subject," Christensen said.Ìý
He then asked whether he could withdraw his resolution so that Lyon and others who wanted to discuss it could do so at council meetings.Ìý
But City Attorney Yohance Christie said parliamentary rules governing council meetings would require four members of the council to approve moving it off the pending list.
That's the same number of votes cast to put it in legislative purgatory in the first place.
ExpandingÌý— The Lancaster County Election Commissioner's Office at 601 N. 46th St. Kerin Peterson, property administrator for the Public Building Commission, said the expansion will help better accommodate increased early voting. Lancaster County commissioners Tuesday approved an $83,000 contract for the design of the expansion, with construction beginning possibly later this year.
$6.3 million — Approved by City Council for Schneider Electric to install new smart water aerators at the city's two water recovery facilities. The aerators help oxygenate wastewater, boost treatment and enhance water quality, Assistant Director of Utilities Donna Garden told the council. The upgrades are expected to improve energy efficiency and save the city $8.2 million over 15 years. The city has saved for the project, which won't require new funding, she said.
Carl EskridgeÌý— The former city councilman on Monday was appointed to serve on the Lincoln Electric System Administrative Board. The council also appointed Chelsea Johnson, deputy director of Conservation Nebraska.
Two people who declined to give their names wave earlier in December at passing motorists at 67th and O streets as they look for people to sign a petition to recall Lincoln Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird and four City Council members.