Fahey veto survives

The Omaha City Council did not have the votes Tuesday to override a veto issued by Mayor Mike Fahey during his last days in office.

The council last week gutted a plan that was designed to help Omaha small businesses. Council members said they worried that the program -- a version of which has been in place for nearly a decade -- would cost taxpayers money and unfairly burden Omaha’s large construction companies.

Fahey responded Thursday by vetoing the council’s amended version -- a version that mostly restates existing federal nondiscrimination law -- and labeling it “unacceptable” because it does nothing to help small businesses.

The council’s decision on Tuesday came despite a request from new Mayor Jim Suttle to override the veto. In his first appearance before the council as mayor, Suttle asked the council to override the veto so that the city could work on developing a new program to help small businesses land city contracts.

The vote on the override was 4-3. The override did not pass because five votes were required.