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: https://cityclerk.cityofomaha.org/wp-content/uploads/images/2023-08-08a-Specialv2.pdf

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

Meeting adjourned at 7:01 pm