Omaha’s 2010 budget is a mess and the Omaha city council still hasn’t produced a realistic budget that would avoid raising taxes.
Pete Festersen, Chuck Sigerson, Jean Stothert and Franklin Thompson announced a plan last week to solve Omaha’s budget problem. It’s been incorrectly reported that Garry Gernandt is a current supporter of the plan. Although Gernandt appeared at the press conference announcing this plan, he attended in his role as council president – not as a supporter.
The main component of their plan is a two-week furlough estimated to save the city $7.8 million. This savings is completely dependent on union approval, and there is no way in hell the unions are going to agree to it. So, unless hell freezes over, this plan is dead on arrival. This budget is pure science fiction.
It’s also quite astonishing there hasn’t been any fuss about the public safety implications of this proposal. When Suttle announced the grounding of the police helicopter for a couple months to deal with the 2009 budget, there was a huge public outcry. This budget proposal would essentially eliminate 30 police officers from an already under staffed department. Didn’t all of these council members campaign on making Omaha safer?
It’s sad (and not surprising) there hasn’t been any critical reporting of this budget proposal from any Omaha media outlet. Every media outlet has reported the plan, but none have actually examined its legitimacy. They’ve assumed that if five council people gather to present the plan, then it must be legitimate. Why hasn’t anyone asked these members what’s “Plan B”? What happens if the main component of their budget falls through?
The political strategy with this budget is quite obvious. This budget proposal was never intended to be passed. The members supporting this plan can say “see, we tried presenting a budget with no tax increases”. The budget has no legitimacy but that doesn’t matter. When this budget doesn’t pass, these council members will then blame the unions and Mayor Suttle. If Suttle had presented this budget, these same council members would have called it an enormous step backwards in public safety and they would have pointed out the insurmountable hurdle posed by the unions. It’s a clear strategy of… “if I present the idea, it’s good but if you present the idea, it’s bad”.
On Sunday, Mayor Suttle appeared on Kaleidoscope. Suttle said he has two requirements for any budget proposal that crosses his desk – it has to be legal and realistic. This budget plan fails the reality check. And if one fantasy budget isn’t good enough for you, then take a look at the new budget proposed by the three Republicans on the council. Sigerson, Stothert and Thompson have presented a new budget worse than the old. The new budget relies almost entirely on police and fire cuts. It’s riddled with the same problems as the previous budget proposal.
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Remember the hoopla surrounding the $19k golf course consultant? Watch Kaleidoscope for an explanation on why it’s necessary. Lee Terry Sr. tried grilling Suttle about the issue and after Suttle finished the explanation, Terry seemed in total agreement with Suttle.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Ugh, why did you have to mention Lee Terry? Now my day is ruined!
This hits the nail on the head. I am so weary of the grandstanding demonstrated by Thompson; Sigerson; Festersen and especially Jean ("I listen to the voice of the people") Stothert. Suttle's budget represents an honest effort to tackle the city's financia crisis. Nobody looks forward to any tax increase, but the Council members' "proposals" are nothing but hot air.
I've been holding off on this story, but now I feel like commenting. The new Council's inability to put politics aside is actually leaving the City in the dangerous position of having to raise property taxes far beyond the original 2.4 cents proposed by Mayor Suttle. I say dangerous, but I personally don't mind paying a little extra. I use it in the context that Republicans like Stothert and Festersen have been showboating in front of TV cameras saying they don't support tax hikes. Well, you don't grow a city to this size and not have a way to pay for it. That's poor planning and reckless policy.
Do we really want Omaha to be like Topeka or Detroit? Sick, but if we listen to the Council members and do what they want, that will be what we are left with in the end.
Also, I am terribly disturbed that Stothert wants to delay the budget vote by a week. This tells me she doesn't know what she is doing and needed Sigerson there to tell her what to do. This is a lot like showing up for a final exam and asking for another day to study because the person who was going to give you all the answers wasn't sitting next to you. This is leadership how again? Sad.
Actually, Cityslicker, despite his chumming around with Southert, Sigerson and Thompson, Festersen is a Democrat.