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Suttle is supporting a budget that hikes the city's property tax rate an estimated 10 percent. Early 2009 when he was running for Mayor, at least two of Suttle's campaign commercials promised, “…to lower property taxes.”
In an early September 2009 city hall news conference, Nebraska Watchdog asked Suttle if he broke that promise. The Mayor did not answer yes or no, but did say that on the third day after the election, May 15th, he was “blindsided” by bad economic news.
On May 15 former Omaha Mayor Mike Fahey announced the latest city sales tax receipts, the numbers of which showed the March 2009 receipts were down $1 million from the previous year. This, Suttle says, drastically changed the city's budget plan.
The January and February 2009 combined sales tax receipts were up $400,000 from the previous year's January and February reports.
Suttle is a former City Council member where he served on the finance committee, overseeing the budget. He says he did not expect the March numbers to fall as they did.[1]
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