Omaha city employees will be asked to take three days off without pay as a way to cut spending under a measure approved Tuesday by the City Council.
In a 7-0 vote, the council approved the voluntary furlough plan a week after approving the 2011 budget, which includes a new restaurant tax and higher wheel and property tax rates.
City officials have said more revenue was necessary to help close a $33.5 million budget gap projected for next year.
Councilman Chris Jerram, who introduced the voluntary furlough proposal, has said unpaid days off for police, firefighters and other city employees could save the city between $1.2 million and $1.8 million a year.
Mayor Jim Suttle has said he would veto a voluntary furlough plan. His spokesman, Ron Gerard, could not be reached for comment Tuesday evening.
City employee unions have not objected to the proposal, since the decision on whether to take an unpaid day off would be up to the worker.
Jerram said having the option to take a few furlough days would come in handy for employees if, for instance, they had used up all of their vacation time but had a sick child.
Last summer, the council weighed and ultimately rejected proposals for both voluntary and mandatory furloughs for city employees.
Also Tuesday, council members met in closed session to review a possible settlement of a lawsuit filed by retired city workers on whether the city can raise their health care premiums.
A trial was scheduled to begin Monday before U.S. District Judge Joseph Bataillon, but it was put on hold.
Mayor Jim Suttle proposed the higher premiums as a way to save about $4.1 million annually, and the City Council agreed. But unions sued, saying the higher premiums violate the terms of their labor contracts.
Officer Aaron Hanson, president of the Omaha police union, sent a letter to his members to notify them of a tentative settlement.
Hanson didn't offer many details in the letter.
However, he wrote that “a key component to the offer is maintaining your current premium status (or lack of health care premium) as they stand today.”
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