Mayor backs pools, libraries

Omaha Mayor Jim Suttle pledged today to keep the city's pools and libraries open this year.

“It's my goal to continue to protect these services and never turn people away from a public pool or library,” the mayor said in his first state of the city address.

Suttle's comments came after a year of city budget cuts that hit the city's pools and public libraries hard.

Mayor Mike Fahey closed two pools before he left office. Then, last summer, swimmers and their parents came to City Hall to protest planned early closings of other pools before donors provided the money to keep them open. Community members also raised private money to stop the Florence Library from temporarily closing last summer.

Those efforts showed, Suttle said, “that our citizens have a passion for these vital services.”

Suttle, who took office in June, delivered the annual mayor's speech at the Hot Shops Art Center in north downtown before an audience of about 50 people, including two City Council members, community leaders and members of the public.

Suttle's remarks focused heavily on the city budget and Omaha's other big financial problem — a long-term shortfall in the police and fire pension fund that's estimated at $500 million.

He urged the City Council to approve the proposed police union contract, which he said includes provisions for a “financially solvent” pension fund. Specifically, Suttle said, the contract would put an end to the spiking of pension benefits for police and firefighters.

Some council members have objected to certain contract provisions, and hired an independent consultant to review the agreement. The council could vote on the contract next month, though it has yet to be put on a council agenda.

“I am concerned about those council members who say they won't vote in favor of this agreement because it doesn't do this or doesn't do that,” Suttle said. “The real cost is in waiting. Spiking must end; every day we delay is another day in which spiking can continue.”

Councilman Pete Festersen, who was in the audience for Suttle's address, said he's in no hurry to approve the contract. He suggested waiting until the council names a replacement for Councilman Chuck Sigerson, who resigned last week to continue recovering from a stroke and heart attack.

If the council waits until Sigerson is replaced, Festersen said, the council will “have all parts of the city represented” when a contract vote is taken.

“We need to make sure we get it right,” he said. “To make the wrong decision would be the worst outcome.”

However, Councilman Ben Gray, who also attended the mayor's address, said he is ready to vote on the police contract.

He said he plans to vote in favor of the agreement. “I've taken enough time,” he said.

Absent from Suttle's remarks was any specific mention of how the city would come up with its contribution to help shore up the pension fund.
Suttle has said he plans to ask the City Council to put a new garbage collection fee on the ballot. Other options, he has said, are a city sales tax increase or, as a last resort, a property tax hike.

All three funding options were recommended by a pension task force set up by Fahey.

“Some of those recommendations are not politically popular and will require each of us to make some very tough decisions,” Suttle said. “But the long-term goals of these recommendations are clear — we must have a pension system that is fair to both the Omaha taxpayer and the public safety employees.”

Gray said he was disappointed that the mayor wasn't more specific regarding the financial challenges facing the city.

“How are we going to fund the pension system?” Gray asked. “I think we've got to drill home the significance of the problems we're facing.”

The Fire Department in recent months has been criticized for being $4.7 million over budget, mostly due to unbudgeted payouts for comp and vacation time, and equipment repairs. Suttle said the department is now using a method called “performance-based budgeting.”

According to the Mayor’s Office, performance-based budgeting focuses on finding the most cost-effective way to deliver city services.
That budgeting method will be soon be expanded to all city departments, Suttle said.

Along with those changes, Suttle also announced the creation of the Mayor’s Budget Efficiency and Savings Team, which will have its first meeting this week and be made up of midlevel staff from each department.

“These are the people who are on the front line of service delivery to the taxpayers,” he said.

Suttle also said he would continue to seek public feedback about the city budget process. Last summer, he hosted several public meetings to explain the 2010 budget. Today, the mayor said he again will again host round-table discussions this spring and summer to discuss the 2011 budget.

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