Who votes first on police contract?

The president of the Omaha police union wants the City Council to vote on the mayor's proposed police contract before his members cast their ballots.

But before the council could take up the deal, council members would need to waive a city ordinance that requires a vote of the union membership before the council could take up the agreement.

Officer Aaron Hanson, president of the police union, said Friday that he would likely have an easier time selling the contract to officers if the council had already approved it.

In April, the council rejected Suttle's first proposed contract, four months after the union membership narrowly approved it. The council had asked for numerous changes, including requiring officers to contribute more toward their pensions.

“Police officers felt that in the previous vote, we had bargained in good faith to find a good resolution, and then had the rug pulled out from underneath us,” Hanson said. “This is such an important vote for both sides.”

Mayor Jim Suttle also wants the council to take up the contract before the union membership, said his spokesman Ron Gerard.

Gerard said language asking the council to waive the ordinance will be part of the proposal for the new police contract. The measure is on the council's July 27 agenda, though a vote would not be held until August at the earliest.

Councilman Ben Gray said he “could probably be persuaded to do it this one time,” but he doesn't want the council to rescind the ordinance altogether.

Gerard said that before the council approved the ordinance in 2004, it was not uncommon for a union vote on a contract to come after council approval.

That ordinance was passed by a previous council in hopes of requiring then-Mayor Mike Fahey to keep the council better informed on contract negotiations.

The ordinance also was at the heart a debate this week between Suttle and council members Jean Stothert and Franklin Thompson. Suttle had said the ordinance required the contract terms to remain private until it appeared on a council agenda. Stothert and Thompson interpreted the ordinance differently.

Thompson ultimately made the agreement public on Wednesday, and Suttle followed up with his own press conference to discuss the deal later in the day.

Councilman Pete Festersen said Friday that he's unlikely to vote to waive the ordinance.

“I think we need to rise above the back-and-forth of the last week and focus on the details of the actual contract,” he said, “and follow established time lines at this point.”

On a related issue, Council President Garry Gernandt plans to ask the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission for a legal opinion on whether he can vote on the proposed contract. He has expressed support for Suttle's revised contract proposal.

Gernandt, a retired police officer, voted in April to support Suttle's original proposal. In 2004, he was part of a unanimous council that voted to approve the police contract that's currently in place.









"I think we need to rise above the back-and-forth of the last week and focus on the details of the actual contract," he said, "and follow established time lines at this point."

On a related issue, Council President Garry Gernandt plans to ask the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission for a legal opinion on whether he can vote on the proposed contract. He has expressed support for Suttle's revised contract proposal.

Gernandt, a retired police officer, voted in April to support Suttle's original proposal. In 2004, he was part of a unanimous council that voted to approve the police contract that's currently in place.

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