The following is a guest column by Shane Pekny, a resident and home owner in Omaha.
Supporters of the mayoral recall have fueled the perception that City Hall’s spending is out of control. A chart in last Sunday’s World-Herald reinforced that notion by showing that nominal general fund expenses have increased almost every year since 1990.
That perception is false. Omaha is a growing city – of course our expenses have increased. We should look at spending in relation to population growth. And we should always express these numbers in real terms, adjusting for inflation, to make meaningful year-to-year comparisons. Furthermore, we should include spending outside of the general fund; Omaha’s residents inevitably pay for most of these expenses, if not through property or sales taxes, then via fees of some sort.
The charts below tell the true story of Omaha’s spending. Per capita, real public works spending has fallen from 1980s levels. Police and fire spending jumped in the mid-1990s, but has remained flat since. The cost of debt has increased moderately, spiking twice in the past decade. And spending on everything else has declined. Overall, there is no long-term trend toward big government in Omaha.
The spikes since 2000 largely represent the price of the Qwest Center, which was supported by most business and political leaders and approved by voters. Increased spending under Suttle results primarily from two items: the mandatory Clean Solutions for Omaha (CSO) project, which will cause utility rate increases, and the downtown baseball stadium, funded by a mix of revenue sources. Like it or not, we all own these obligations.
Our city’s budget has changed little in the past three decades. The current budget crunch results largely from reduced tax revenues amid a major recession. In this historical context, Mayor Suttle’s actions appear quite reasonable. The recall supporters – in their disdain for taxes – have sought to ride a national wave of anti-spending fervor. But that is no reason to recall Omaha’s mayor.
I agree, we need to look at the numbers in real terms, not nominal, and that 68% increase in police and fire spending is unacceptable to me. Of course, it’s not solely Suttle’s problem, but that brings up another issue – he’s impersonal. I went to the budget meetings where Suttle asked for suggestions from the people as to how to address the budget issues. People gave suggestions, saying that they preferred cutting services to raising taxes, and he was terse and rude, telling people that cutting services wasn’t an option.
Having met every Mayor since PJ Morgan, I can say without hesitation that Suttle was the rudest, least caring of them all.
I didn’t sign the recall petition, and I won’t be voting in the election as I’m out of the country, but I’d vote to kick him out based on that.