Mayor Highlights Workforce, Infrastructure, and Housing in Address

Mayor Highlights Workforce, Infrastructure, and Housing in Address

Published on October 07, 2025

State of the city is strong, Mayor says

In her 2025 State of the City Address, Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird highlighted major gains in affordable housing, workforce development, and infrastructure, outlining how City investments are delivering an even better quality of life for residents.

"The state of our city is strong. And while we are proud of our strength, we strive to build on our successes each day as we cultivate the quality-of-life capital of the country," Mayor Gaylor Baird said.

Workforce Development: Creating Jobs and Strengthening the Local Economy

Mayor Gaylor Baird announced that workforce investments using American Rescue Plan Act funds have now served more than 1,550 residents, enabled over 1,000 individuals to earn credentials, and helped 294 people secure jobs. The City also exceeded its goal of credentialing 40 community members with new commercial driver's licenses (CDL), more than doubling the initial target with 83 individuals obtaining CDL credentials. In February, the City launched the Future-Ready Workforce Initiative with Southeast Community College and IBEW Local 265 to train electricians, HVAC mechanics, and automotive service technicians. The first City-funded apprentices have begun training for these high-demand careers.

To further support working families, the City will introduce new zoning changes that make it easier to expand existing early childhood education centers or open new ones. In addition, Mayor Gaylor Baird announced a $250,000 commitment to Lincoln Littles to provide tuition assistance for as many as 83 children, helping families access affordable, high-quality care and giving more parents the ability to pursue careers.

Infrastructure: Improving Streets and Ensuring a Reliable Water Supply
Mayor Gaylor Baird highlighted voter approval of the continuation of Lincoln on the Move, which is expected to provide an additional $144 million for streets over the next eight years. She emphasized Project "O" Street, a generational investment to repair or replace aging streets, sidewalks, and water mains downtown. The City also won a $66.7 million federal grant to rebuild the 33rd and Cornhusker Highway intersection and advanced Water 2.0, an effort to secure a second source of safe, clean drinking water that will support Lincoln's growth and resilience.

Housing: Building More Homes and Increasing Affordability

Mayor Gaylor Baird also announced progress on affordable housing, reporting that the City has now supported 3,201 new or rehabilitated affordable units since 2019, more than 64% of the way toward her administration's goal of 5,000 units by 2030. Recent City-supported affordable housing projects include Union at Middle Creek, FiftyOne Commons, Center Terrace, and the first City-owned Permanent Supportive Housing, expected to welcome residents before the end of the year. Additionally, she said work to grow the supply of housing at every price point has resulted in City development review teams issuing more residential building permits over the past five-year period than in any other five-year period in Lincoln's recorded history.

Public Safety: Investing in People, Facilities, and Safe Neighborhoods

Mayor Gaylor Baird said public safety remains the top priority for City government and residents. She announced the creation of a new Public Safety Facilities Task Force to review Lincoln's fire and police facility needs and recommend how best to meet them. The task force will evaluate current facilities, identify gaps, and make recommendations about how to fill them in order to strengthen the city's public safety infrastructure for years to come.

Mayor Gaylor Baird reported that investments in recruiting police officers are paying off, with the Lincoln Police Department (LPD) now at 97% of authorized strength following the largest recruit class in recent history. A new contract with the Lincoln Police Union raises wages 17% over three years, strengthening LPD's ability to attract and retain officers. She also noted that Part 1 crime, including violent crime, has fallen to a new 25-year low.

"We make strides toward making Lincoln the safest and healthiest capital city in America because public safety is our top priority. We continue to invest in the people, partnerships, training, equipment, and facilities that keep our community members safe and healthy," Mayor Gaylor Baird said.

Other highlights included:

• Announcement of a forthcoming City ordinance to protect seniors and all residents from scams involving cryptocurrency
• Continued progress toward fleet electrification, with more than 40% of the City's light fleet now running on electricity or other alternative fuels, accelerating progress toward the goal of transitioning the entire fleet by 2040

• A $2.3 million FEMA grant award to hire nine new firefighters
• Development of Boehmer Street, the city's new Music District, and the opening of the Music Box rehearsal, recording, and education space
• Construction of the City's first fully inclusive playground at Mahoney Park, expanding access to play for children of all abilities
• Opening of the Fletcher Landmark Trail
• Plans to transform the Centrum Building at 11th and "O" Streets into a new central library

In conclusion, Mayor Gaylor Baird lauded the City team's work to deliver results that make life in Lincoln even more safe and healthy, strong and resilient, equitable and inclusive, and prosperous and vibrant.

"While the rest of the world too often feels chaotic and in crisis, here in Lincoln, we stay stable and steadfast in our pursuit of creating a more successful, secure, and shared future - together. We are a city of neighbors helping neighbors," she said.

The address was Mayor Gaylor Baird's seventh since taking office in 2019. It was hosted by Leadership Lincoln Tuesday, October 7, at the Marriott Cornhusker Hotel.

The State of the City Address will air again at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, on LNKTV, the City government access channel available on Allo channel 2 and Spectrum channel 1300. The address is also available on demand at YouTube.com/LNKTVcity and through the LNKTV apps on Roku, Apple TV, and Amazon Fire TV.

For more information on Leadership Lincoln, visit leadershiplincoln.org.