Lancaster County approves $3.26 million for roads and $1.5 million for self-insurance after public hearing
June 23, 2026 | Lancaster County, Nebraska
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The Lancaster County Board of Commissioners voted June 23 to supplement appropriations with $3,260,071 for the bridge and special road fund and to increase the group self-insurance fund by $1,500,000 following a public hearing and staff testimony.
Dennis Meyer, Lancaster County Budget and Fiscal Officer, told the board the county's self-insured health plan had incurred claims above the fiscal-year budget and recommended an amendment of $1.5 million to the group self-insurance fund. "The fund does have a cash reserve of about 11.9 million," Meyer said, adding that the county would draw down part of that reserve "to cover the claims that will keep coming all the way up through June 30th." The board moved and adopted the amendment on a unanimous roll-call vote.
Meyer also outlined a $3,260,071 increase to the bridge and special road fund to place several projects into the current fiscal year. The largest single project cited was surfacing of Pine Lake Road, described by staff as "just a little over two million," plus two bridge contracts (identified in the hearing as X84 and C262) totaling about $1.2 million. To fund the change, Meyer said the board would reallocate a $2.8 million transfer originally planned for the highway fund, supplemented by $350,000 to the engineer's office, and reduce scheduled highway fund expenditures to offset the movement.
Commissioners praised the engineers office for adjusting project timing and said the transfers put money to work for safety and infrastructure. Chair Christa Yokum called for public testimony and none was recorded during the hearing. The board approved the resolution (agenda item 5A) on a unanimous roll-call (Best, Flower, Shulty, Yokum), noting the action completes steps to "get those projects going" in the current fiscal year.
What this means: County staff can proceed to award and execute contracts for the Pine Lake Road surfacing and the listed bridge projects within the reallocated budget; the county will also apply reserve funds to cover higher health-claim costs through the fiscal year end. The board did not specify future tax or fee changes tied to these adjustments.
The resolution was adopted at the June 23 meeting; the board is scheduled to reconvene June 30 for its next regular meeting.
Dennis Meyer, Lancaster County Budget and Fiscal Officer, told the board the county's self-insured health plan had incurred claims above the fiscal-year budget and recommended an amendment of $1.5 million to the group self-insurance fund. "The fund does have a cash reserve of about 11.9 million," Meyer said, adding that the county would draw down part of that reserve "to cover the claims that will keep coming all the way up through June 30th." The board moved and adopted the amendment on a unanimous roll-call vote.
Meyer also outlined a $3,260,071 increase to the bridge and special road fund to place several projects into the current fiscal year. The largest single project cited was surfacing of Pine Lake Road, described by staff as "just a little over two million," plus two bridge contracts (identified in the hearing as X84 and C262) totaling about $1.2 million. To fund the change, Meyer said the board would reallocate a $2.8 million transfer originally planned for the highway fund, supplemented by $350,000 to the engineer's office, and reduce scheduled highway fund expenditures to offset the movement.
Commissioners praised the engineers office for adjusting project timing and said the transfers put money to work for safety and infrastructure. Chair Christa Yokum called for public testimony and none was recorded during the hearing. The board approved the resolution (agenda item 5A) on a unanimous roll-call (Best, Flower, Shulty, Yokum), noting the action completes steps to "get those projects going" in the current fiscal year.
What this means: County staff can proceed to award and execute contracts for the Pine Lake Road surfacing and the listed bridge projects within the reallocated budget; the county will also apply reserve funds to cover higher health-claim costs through the fiscal year end. The board did not specify future tax or fee changes tied to these adjustments.
The resolution was adopted at the June 23 meeting; the board is scheduled to reconvene June 30 for its next regular meeting.
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