City Council - Budget Public Hearing
Omaha City Council
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1819 Farnam St, Omaha, Nebraska 68182 Omaha, NE 68182 (Directions)
Omaha-Douglas Civic Center, Legislative Chambers
Check the source website for additional information
Reporting
Edited and summarized by the Omaha - NE Documenters Team
Note-taking by
Will Ramsey
Live reporting by
Anton Johnson
Anton Johnson
@AntonIsWriting
Good evening, I’ll be live-tweeting tonight’s city budget hearing for @oma_documenters
You can follow along at home here:
youtube.com/live/IupQWGcgs…
You can follow along at home here:
youtube.com/live/IupQWGcgs…
06:30 PM Aug 8, 2023 CDT
Speakers will have three minutes for testimony, and the City Council will use a light system to warn speakers when their time is up
You can find the 2024 recommended budget and 2024-2029 Capital Improvement Program here: cityclerk.cityofomaha.org/wp-content/upl…
Starting with proponents, Nancy Hintz from the Nebraska Humane Society thanked the city for partnering to care for animals
Rebecca Barrientos-Patlan thanked the City Council for working for South Omaha without a District 4 representative
Barrientos-Parlan said the police department should bring back the nuisance task force
The first opponent is Doug Kagan from Nebraska Taxpayer’s for Freedom. Kagan said there is some good in the budget, but there’s still spending that could be cut.
Kagan said the money that will go to the streetcar could instead go to a tax decrease
Opponent Linda Borz said the cut to the property tax levy is “minuscule” compared to increasing property valuation
She also said a pay increase for police officers is necessary, but it shouldn’t be higher than other similarly sized cities bc cost of living isn’t as high in Omaha
Dennis Schleiz said his property tax bill will still go up despite the tax levy cut, and asked the city to decrease the levy more
Kyra Britt said she doesn’t support the amount of money going to the Nebraska Humane Society. She said she supports their work, but they dont spend their money correctly
Britt is also opposed to the budget increase for Omaha police. She said the city should reallocate more to education and public services like parks and libraries
She added that the city needs to do more for the unhoused population
Larry Storer asked that they spend money improving the sound system in the legislative chambers
Storer said he’d be opposed to any reductions to the police budget
Isabella Manhart, a resident of District 4, said it isn’t fair that they are penalized for not having a representative. They asked that the vote in the budget be delayed until District 4 has a representative
Manhart said that climate isn’t mentioned in the budget, and the city needs to get the climate action plan ready soon
There are only seven officers for mental health coresponse, so if they increase the police budget it should go to provide that 24/7, Manhart said
Lawrence Shackman said the city needs to provide funding for a spay-neuter center to control the community cat population
Gab Rima said funding for the implementation of the climate action plan isn’t in the budget, meaning it won’t be funded until next fiscal year
Rima said extreme cold temperatures in the winter are dangerous for unhoused people, so the city needs to fund more services
Our last speaker, opponent Luis Jimenez said there should be more urban design like trees between curbs and sidewalks. He also said the city should partner more with the county on mental health
Jimenez said the city should also look at more options for addressing traffic downtown
Agency Information
Omaha City Council
The City Council has the power to adopt, amend or repeal ordinances necessary to execute or make effective the provisions of the charter. In addition, the City Council has the power to adopt the budget, make or confirm appointments, provide for an independent audit and other necessary actions consistent with the charter.
Documents
No documents available