Progressive Oasis

OMAHA, NE – Recent events at Omaha’s City Hall seem to indicate that the Queen Mayor is completely clueless on the parameters of the Fire Contract she helped negotiate. If Queen Jean truly wanted a fire budget that cost taxpayers less, why didn’t she fight to cut actual costs in the contract to begin with? Her contract she touted adds additional costs that were already removed by a previous CIR decision.  Sound like a complete lack planning on her part, or she wanted to load so much extras on the contract at the cost to taxpayers just so she could turn around later and blame the Union for these costs.  Maybe its a tragic mix of both?  The Fire Chief tells Stothert in emails that her rhetoric is unfair and inaccurate.  Stothert even remarked publicly that “its not a circus”.   Maybe it feels like a circus because you are now the ringmaster, Mayor?  Let’s not forget, even the Mayor’s proposal on the Fire Budget is still higher than planned, which seems to be an admission that her contract is costing Omaha taxpayers.

I also fail to see how breaking aspects of the contract equates to the fiscal responsibility she’s been preaching about since her gated community behind first sat on the City Council in 2009. As Mayor, she should already know she can’t unilaterally change terms or conditions of the contract.  I fail to see how allowing this fight with the Fire Union over the contract to go to the courts saves taxpayers money.  I hope much of Omaha voters are beginning to see the mistake they made in supporting someone who is clearly a pillar mismanagement.  Speaking of mismanagement, the Queen Mayor’s budget proposal keeps the restaurant tax intact, something she promised to repeal, but to add salt in the wounds of her supporters, she is going through with a random audit to be sure the City isn’t losing out on revenue. Here’s the link to the Proposed Budget, if you haven’t seen it yet.

Jean Stothert knows she can’t unilaterally change conditions of the contract!