Appointment terms, biennial budgets advance

Senators advanced four bills from general file Jan. 30 that would modify provisions for primary, first and second class cities and villages. All were introduced by Lincoln Sen. Amanda McGill.

LB87 would provide that an appointee filling a vacancy on an airport authority board would serve the unexpired term of the vacated board member. Currently, an appointee serves only until a successor is elected at the next general election.

McGill said some cities are having issues filling board vacancies because appointed members must soon campaign for the same position. The position would be more appealing if appointees could serve the entire term, she said.

The bill advanced from general file on a 34-0 vote.

LB111 would allow cities of the first and second class and villages to file biennial budgets with the state auditor’s office and county clerk.

State law classifies incorporated cities, villages and municipalities by their population. The city is classified as:
• metropolitan if its population is 300,000 or more;
• primary if its population 100,001 to 299,999;
• first if its population is 5,001 to 100,000;
• second if its population is 801 to 5,000; and
• a village if its population is 100 to 800.

“Budgeting for two years rather than one will give these cities opportunities to do more long-range planning,” McGill said.

The bill advanced from general file on a 34-0 vote.

LB112 would transfer record keeping and reporting on bonds from the city clerk to the city treasurer in first and second class cities and villages. The bill also would require the treasurer to prepare lists of and collect all special assessments.

County treasurers currently must obtain records from city clerks to generate bond reports, McGill said, so it would be more efficient for the treasurer to keep the reports.

The bill advanced from general file on a 31-0 vote.

Finally, LB113 would authorize the mayor of a second class city to vote when it would create a number equal to a majority of the members elected to the council.

Authorizing the mayor to create a super-majority would be helpful in instances in which city purchases must be made or contracts must be signed but a member is absent, she said.

The bill advanced from general file on a 33-0 vote.