New Omaha mayor raises taxes he said he would cut
From Sunshine Review
September 15, 2009 Omaha, Nebraska's new Mayor Jim Suttle will raise property taxes, but defended the campaign promise to cut them.[1]
[edit] Campaign promises
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]
[edit] Economic indicators
Former Omaha City Finance Director Carol Ebdon tells Nebraska Watchdog that other economic indicators were falling behind including building permits and recycling revenue. Ebdon says the city council’s "finance committee members knew there were concerns.”
Former Omaha City Councilman and finance committee member Frank Brown served with Suttle. Brown tells Nebraska Watchdog that at the beginning of 2009 the budget was, “…$5 million in the hole and in a few months it was worse. I can’t imagine someone on the City Council not knowing.”[1]
An investigation by Nebraska Watchdog shows the city’s budget problems were well documented and cover several months before Suttle's tax-cutting campaign promises.
[edit] Transcript
Nebraska Watchdog obtained a transcript of a confidential candidate interview conducted by the Omaha Chamber of Commerce with Suttle on September 29th, 2008. The transcript reports that when Suttle was discussing financing of the new downtown ball park Suttle expressed concern over the city budget, “I’m nervous about Keno and the hotel tax and the car rental, what’s going on with the economy and what’s going on with other factors.”
The public records regarding the city’s budget problems date back over a year.
- July 16th, 2008: In the 2009 recommended budget prepared for the City Council Ebdon wrote, “General Fund Revenues are not keeping up with inflation, many are stagnant or even declining.”
- December 2nd, 2008: Mayor Mike Fahey holds a news conference to discuss the possibility of cutting $4 million from the 2009 budget and “…projects that sales tax revenue, which makes up 46% of our General Fund Revenue, will stay flat in 2009.”
- December 23rd, 2008: Fahey announces a plan to cut $6.2 million from the 2009 budget.
- January 27, 2009: During the annual State of the City Address Fahey said, “As we begin 2009 and start to prepare our 2010 budget, we will be faced with ongoing economic uncertainty.”
- May 1st, 2009: Fahey announces the December budget cuts do not go far enough, “Unfortunately, those cuts are not the end of the recession’s impact on Omaha…we now project an additional $6.5 million shortfall.” Fahey tells reporters the next Mayor may have to raise property taxes.
Nebraska Watchdog asked Ebdon if the Fahey administration ever believed a tax cut in the 2010 budget was possible. Ebdon said, “I don’t think anyone in the administration thought that was likely.”[1]
[edit] External links
- Nebraska state website
- Omaha Mayor's website
- City of Omaha website
- [Omaha Chamber of Commerce]
[edit] References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Omaha Mayor Defends Campaign Promise to Cut Taxes," Nebraska Watchdog, September 15, 2009
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