Mayor Suttle Gives Omaha State of the City Address
Feb 16, 01:41 PM CST
Good morning. Thank you Dana for that introduction and those terrific words. Thank you Tim for hosting us this morning. This is truly a beautiful location and you have created a phenomenal artist colony here at the Hot Shops.
I’d also like to thank everyone for joining me this morning, including members of the City Council, other elected officials, cabinet members, staff and interested citizens. Take a look at these walls and the art all around us and you will see examples of the depth and breadth of talent that exists in our community. Omaha is a community rich in talent, knowledge and creativity and is blessed by cultural facilities that make us the gem of America’s Midwest.
The Durham Museum is one of the greatest examples of art deco in the world. There is also the Joslyn, the charm of the Old Market and the newly developing NoDo. There is an ever increasing variety of performing arts at both small and large venues including the Qwest Center, the Holland Performing Arts Center, Film Streams and the Kaneko. We have witnessed the transformational development of our Riverfront, highlighted by the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge; and we have made significant improvements to our parks, lakes and recreational trails system.
On both sides of the River, you can see dirt being moved and cranes lifting progress upward in our skyline. Omaha is on the move and we are building a city that is a great place to live and work and a great place to visit and invest.
This is the message that must be delivered outside of these walls and outside of this city. The time is now to tell the full story of Omaha.
The time is now for bold and innovative steps. It is time to make Omaha a destination city, an even more exciting city, a center of excellence for education, the arts and music that is universally recognized. This is the moment for investing in our future to strengthen Omaha’s ability to compete nationally. Forbes magazine recently listed Omaha as number one – the city recovering fastest from the current recession than any other city in the nation.
As our country emerges from this economic downturn, it is vital that Omaha remain at the forefront of this recovery. We are at the dawn of a new renaissance. Omaha can and must show everyone why it should be their destination city.
We must act. The three letters of that very word – a…c…t – arts, culture and tourism – define the elements of our progress. Great cities are focusing attention on these elements and in Omaha we have the resources, the talent and the boundless energy to play second to none in building on our success.
We are entering the second decade of the 21st Century. We need a public transportation system that reflects the time. Our actions must match the boldness of our dreams, and the resolve of our spirit. For a dozen years and through two Mayors, there has been talk of a streetcar in Omaha. The generosity of Omaha business leaders and the talent of our engineering community have already helped lay the design foundations for this bold project.
We know that similar projects in other cities have spurred housing expansion in the heart of those cities, economic growth and job creation. Omaha is ready to take the next steps in engineering and then work with officials in Washington to find opportunities for funding within the new federal transportation bill.
We will take these steps together, and ensure that information flows freely through the media and the internet so our citizens can be a part of this great progress. This project will lead a renaissance in the heart of our city and bring a green and healthy future for Omaha as we promote public transit throughout the city and our five county region.
During the election last year, I made a commitment to bring green initiatives to Omaha. Last Summer, our city received 4.3 million dollars in stimulus funds as part of the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant. As part of this 3-year grant, the City of Omaha has hired its first ever Sustainability Coordinator, Kristi Wamstad-Evans.
Kristi, thank you for being here today. Thank you for your leadership and your dedication to the important work that needs to be done.
The role of the Sustainability Coordinator is to develop and implement a citywide strategy for sustainable practices and services. Primary amongst those services will be the creation of Omaha’s first Energy Conservation Plan.
As part of my commitment to make Omaha a greener City, we must take the necessary steps to implement and coordinate sustainable practices throughout City government.
This includes activities as simple as recycling to activities as complex as developing a city-wide energy policy. Our city government is poised to serve as a leader and as an example for businesses and individuals across our community.
That’s why I am pleased to announce that Kristi is implementing the Program for City Building Energy Efficiency. This comprehensive two year plan focuses on energy conservation efforts in the operations and maintenance of the City’s existing buildings. We will audit a total of 100 City buildings, which will include Omaha’s public libraries, community centers, fire stations and other public buildings. Once the audits are complete, the City will retrofit the buildings accordingly to improve energy efficiency.
Green economy jobs are the jobs of the future, and Omaha must be in the forefront of business recruitment as this new sector of our nation’s economy develops around us. I am a proponent of job training programs and Workforce Development, and in the coming months and years I will work with our Congressional delegation to seek federal funding for enhanced workforce training and Summer Youth Employment programs.
The path to a good job is through education, which is why I am a firm supporter of the Middle School Learning Initiative started by Mayor Fahey with the support of an earmark secured by Senator Nelson, and the Building Bright Futures initiative. Both efforts seek to increase opportunities for all youth to receive a quality education, and improve their academic success through tutoring and mentoring programs.
I believe in a holistic, three-part approach to violence prevention: Education, Employment and Enforcement. We must never let up on our efforts to reduce violence, keep illegal guns out of the hands of those who break the law, and prevent our young people from giving in to the temptations of gangs. There is too much at stake for our citizens to feel unsafe in their own neighborhood.
Strong leadership is the key to a successful police department and a safe community, which is why I recently appointed Alex Hayes to lead the Omaha Police Department.
Under Chief Hayes’ leadership, our police department is well-positioned to bring all stakeholders to the table and strengthen community policing.
Alex, thank you for your commitment to our community and for your efforts to keep our neighborhoods safe.
This past summer, I engaged our citizens in their City’s budget process through a series of Roundtable discussions across town- in South Omaha, Benson and Elkhorn. I also had frequent meetings with members of the City Council. As a result of this collaboration with citizens and elected officials, Omaha now has a budget for 2010 that restores funding for our libraries and pools. All branches of the Omaha Public Library are open, with a full staff and full hours to meet the needs of our citizens.
The experience of this past summer clearly demonstrates the strong desire that our citizens have for basic city services.
Imagine how I felt when I looked out the window on a hot afternoon last August and saw a group of young people and their parents marching outside City Hall to protest the closing of our public swimming pools one week early. This demonstration, along with the generous support from our community to keep the Florence Library branch open, demonstrate that our citizens have a passion for these vital services.
It is my goal to continue to protect these services, and never turn people away from a public pool or library. Our budget discussions illustrate the ability of reasonable people to engage in honest and frank conversations that lead to productive results. These discussions, in turn, help unite us as a City to move Omaha forward.
For the 2011 budget process, we will expand the roundtable format. I will host two series of roundtable discussions; the first in the spring at the beginning of the budget cycle and the second in late summer after the 2011 budget is drafted.
In recent months, we have experienced winter in all of its glory. Record snowfall and bitter cold have tested the limits of our endurance. City crews worked aggressively 24 hours a day to clear our streets and make them safe for our first responders, motorists and pedestrians. Despite budget challenges and the extreme cold and wind, our crews went to work and stayed at work, even spending time away from their families over the holidays. We asked our citizens for their patience and cooperation, and in turn, we made a pledge to never quit working until the job is done. This work continues as crews persistently tackle the return of potholes on our City’s streets.
The financial challenges we face are not unique to Omaha. Cities across the country are faced with similar dilemmas. In Colorado Springs, for example, City recreation centers and indoor and outdoor pools will close for good unless private funding is found by the end of next month. More than a third of the street lights have gone dark and dozens of police and fire positions will go unfilled. Last summer, Moody’s lowered Detroit’s bond rating to less than junk status.
Omaha has fared better than Detroit or Colorado Springs. In September, I had a very productive meeting with both Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s bond rating agencies. In 2008, Moody’s had downgraded our city’s bond rating citing an underfunded pension and limited cash reserves.
In those meetings last year, our City received favorable marks for our ability to confront financial challenges directly. Behind every success is effort; we cannot run away from any challenge nor wait for them to take care of themselves. Gone must be the days of rhetoric without action, style without substance and promises with no potential.
Moody’s affirmed Omaha’s Double-A bond rating with a stable outlook. Standard & Poor’s affirmed the AAA bond rating. This is a great achievement at a time when the credit ratings of other cities are being downgraded.
In the bond offering following the updated ratings, Omaha sold $27 million in general obligation bonds, receiving an average interest rate of 3 ¼%, the lowest in city history. This will save our taxpayers $2.6 million over the life of the bonds.
I will continue every effort to restore Omaha’s AAA bond rating in order to save our taxpayers money by lowering our costs to borrow money for important city projects.
One year ago our city was faced with the prospect of a half billion dollar shortfall in the police and fire pension fund. Today we are still faced with that shortfall; however, we now have the guidance we need to solve this crisis.
We all owe gratitude to Bob Bates, and the Pension Task Force he chaired last year, for their leadership in helping the City resolve the pension crisis. Members of this committee, created by Mayor Fahey, came from private businesses, universities, unions, the Chamber of Commerce, City Council and the Mayor’s office, representing a diversity of knowledge and experience.
One member of that Task Force is not here today. Chuck Sigerson has been a statesman for Omaha. We will miss his wisdom in City Hall and we wish him a full recovery.
The Pension Task Force made a number of recommendations on how to resolve the shortfall crisis. Some of these recommendations are not politically popular and will require each of us to make some very tough decisions in the near-term. But the long-term goal of these recommendations is clear: We must have a pension system that is fair to both Omaha taxpayers and our public safety employees.
With those goals in mind we recently reached an historic agreement with the Omaha Police Officers Association. This 5 (five) year contract includes provisions for a financially solvent police pension.
Under this agreement…. spiking… is eliminated. Spiking is a significant concern for citizens, and that concern has been met with decisive action on the part of both the Police Officers Association and the Administration.
The contract includes a wage freeze for both 2009 and 2010. In subsequent years, wages will gradually be brought to the comparable wage scale as determined by the Commission of Industrial Relations. A competitive, or comparable, wage is essential for Omaha to hire and keep the most qualified police officers. It is also the law.
This agreement also provides a solution to the unfunded pension liability and addresses the concerns of the bond rating agencies.
This contract is progressive and marks a significant departure from those of the past. This contract changes the way we deal with negotiations; which will never be the same again. This change is good for the City, but there are those who are fearful or don’t like this change.
I am concerned about those Council members who say they won’t vote in favor of this agreement because it does do this or it doesn’t do that; or it costs too much.
The real cost is in waiting. Spiking must end; every day we delay is another day in which spiking can continue.
No one got everything they wanted in this contract. Not the City; and not the Union. It can’t always be all or nothing or one way or the other. Debate and discussion is healthy and there is bound to be something that someone won’t like about some piece of this agreement; but, if the Council agrees with most of what this contract accomplishes then they should vote to approve it. We cannot afford to have gridlock because someone didn’t get 100% of what they wanted. As President Obama recently reminded us: “That’s not how democracy works.”
The passage of this police contract also keeps our city in a strong position to successfully continue negotiations with our firefighters.
City government cannot continue in the way that it has always operated. In these economic times, real solutions are needed and open dialogue is the path to success; community involvement and accountability is essential.
Our city government must find ways to deliver services better, faster and cheaper. We must run government more efficiently, and ensure we have the ability to provide the most basic services such as garbage collection, street maintenance and public safety, and access to pools and libraries. That’s why I’m instituting performance-based budgeting for our city departments. This is a significant reform and is taking place under the guidance of Omaha’s Chief Financial Officer, Pam Spaccarotella.
Pam, I appreciate you being here this morning. Thank you for your hard work and your dedication to your work as you continue to help us find ways to save money for Omaha taxpayers.
We must measure how effectively and efficiently tax dollars are used. The focus needs to be on the taxpayer and the services received for the dollars that are spent. Performance measurements must focus on goals and how best to achieve them. For the benefits of taxpayers and for the health of our City, we must find the most efficient way to continue to grow our City.
This change to performance based budgeting is already underway, having started in the Omaha Fire Department, and will be expanded to all city departments in the coming months.
With a goal to create even greater efficiency, transparency and reliability in all of our city departments, today I am announcing the creation of the Mayor’s Budget Efficiency and Savings Team. This team, whose first meeting will be later this week, will be comprised of mid-level staff from each city department. These are the people who are on the front line of service delivery to the taxpayers.
We are delivering on programs that keep our commitment to neighborhoods. One of my priorities coming into office was to preserve the Neighborhood Grant Program. It is important to our neighborhoods that we keep this program strong.
I have put a new spin on this year’s program. In addition to the Crime Prevention category, I have asked applicants to submit projects that are environmentally friendly. I am confident the projects submitted this year will have a positive impact on our entire community and I look forward to announcing the recipients this Spring.
We are delivering on technology to make City Hall more accessible and efficient. I am the first Mayor to use Facebook and Twitter and the new Mayor’s website is now live. The Internet is becoming the front door to City Hall and is a vital tool to make local government more accessible, informative and responsive. In the coming year, I will continue to build on the effort to bring E-government to the citizens of Omaha and make more information available with just the click of a button.
In closing, I want to thank the citizens of Omaha for giving me the opportunity to lead our City. I have put a team in place that I am confident has the expertise, talent and intelligence to make our City more efficient. My Cabinet, my staff and I, are working hard every day on behalf of the citizens of Omaha and will continue to do so in the months and years to come.
The state of the City is strong, but it can and will be better. There are even greater days ahead: A stronger Omaha — for us as individuals and for us as a community.
– by Missy Wigley | Send this to a friend
