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City of Lincoln
Council reviews compensation study, advances lift assist ordinance
[February 14, 2026]
Questions of taxpayer
responsibility, employee compensation and long-term housing needs
dominated the Feb. 10 Lincoln City Council Committee of the Whole
meeting, where several measures were advanced to the regular agenda
for future votes.
Mayor Tracy Welch called the meeting to order at 6 p.m. Following
the pledge and public participation, the council moved into a
presentation regarding an IHDA Lincoln Community Revitalization
Plan.
Dorsey Hill explained that the Illinois Housing Development
Authority offers “a free program that communities can be a part
of…It usually takes about 12 to 18 months.” Hill said she had been
speaking with city leadership and local development partners because
“we’ve heard, and we know, that housing is definitely an issue in
the community.”
Amy Bashiti, Community Revitalization Services Manager for IHDA,
described the process as beginning with “a full market analysis of
the primary market area around Lincoln that includes housing,
economic and demographic data.” The authority would then conduct a
community needs assessment survey that is “typically about 10 to 15
minutes long.”
Bashiti said a housing stock survey would follow, during which staff
and volunteers would “map every building and every parcel in the
community.” She said, “This is all from the sidewalk or the street.
We never go onto a property, and we never look at the interior of
the property.”
The final product would be a large plan that gets both published on
IHDA’s website, which she said is “usually about 150 pages” and can
be used to apply for grants or attract housing developers. Bashiti
noted that while the service itself is free, the community is asked
to set aside a small local fund for meeting refreshments or
childcare, but “that doesn’t come to us. That stays in Lincoln.”
The council then moved to the City of Lincoln Compensation Study
agenda item. Rachel King of MGT—an organization that focuses on
"impacting communities for good"—presented findings from the city’s
salary review for non-union employees and department heads. King
said MGT identified 18 comparable communities and “ultimately
received data from 17 of the 18 peers.”
The recommended salary structure
was based on the 50th percentile. “What the 50th percentile means is
that half of those peers pay below and half pay above,” King
explained. “The median is the market.”
King noted that Lincoln’s overall benefits package was competitive
but identified life insurance and first-year vacation allowances as
lower compared to peer communities. She recommended that “any
employees whose current compensation is below the minimum of the new
range, they should be brought up to that minimum.”
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Under the
“Ordinance Authorizing the Sale of Excess Personal Property” on
the agenda, City Attorney John Hoblit stated, “We have to
approve it in order to sell said property.” The ordinance lists
office furniture and police department equipment as surplus
items.
Fire Chief Ty Johnson then addressed the next proposed ordinance
imposing lift assist fees. Johnson said facilities sometimes
call for assistance with non-emergency lifts, explaining, “You
have private businesses using the fire department for their
manpower, which costs taxpayers’ money.”
“We run over 3,000 calls a year,”
Johnson said. “Many times we’re down to four or five personnel for
the day. It is a strain on us.”
The proposed ordinance would allow six non-emergency lift assists
per facility per calendar year before fees are assessed. Johnson
described the ordinance as providing “a tool we can utilize” to
recover costs and manage staffing demands.
The council also reviewed a resolution authorizing execution of a
service agreement for the supply of electricity for residential and
small commercial retail customers who do not opt out of the city’s
aggregation program. Additional agenda items included proposals for
annual grinding at the landscape waste facility and an audit of
telecommunication service accounts.
City Treasurer Chuck Conzo described the telecommunications audit
agreement as contingency based. “If they don’t save us any money, we
don’t pay them anything,” Conzo said.
During announcements, Mayor Welch addressed temporary removal of the
city’s no-knock registry from the website after it generated a high
volume of automated notifications to the clerk’s office. Adjustments
are being made before it is restored.
The meeting concluded with a motion to enter executive session under
2(C)(12), as listed on the agenda. The council adjourned without
taking final action on the discussed items, which are expected to
appear on the regular meeting agenda.
[Sophia Larimore]
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