Advertisement Omaha city budget approved; residents to pay slightly less in property taxes Share Shares Copy Link Copy

Omaha residents will pay slightly less in property taxes.Mayor Jean Stothert's 2 percent property tax cut survives, despite concern from City Council members that more money is needed for roads. For the owner of a $150,000 home, the tax cut amounts to about $15 per year.Some City Council members rallied to cut Stothert's proposed property tax relief in half and put the $750,000 in additional revenue into street repairs around the city."I think we need to recognize the enormity of the problem we have with our streets and our infrastructure," City Council President Ben Gray said.The proposal received four votes in favor, but needed five to pass."It's an enormous problem, and it's one that $750,000 isn't getting us anywhere near (solving)," Aimee Melton said. "We need comprehensive reform on how we're going to do this."Talk of discrimination in the city of Omaha's summer day camps was also heard at Tuesday's meeting."Like it or not, the funding policies of our city have created recreational opportunities for some to their benefit while depriving others of equal access to summer recreation," said City Council member Chris Jerram.Jerram and City Council member Garry Gernandt proposed a budget amendment to add more than $60,000 for the Omaha Parks and Recreation Department to start a four-week summer day camp in South Omaha next year. The city ran three summer day camps this year -- at Hummel, Zorinsky and Benson parks.Omaha Parks and Recreation Director Brook Bench said he's already budgeted for a one-week pilot program in South Omaha, but wants to make sure the program is done correctly."To do four weeks right out of the gate at Hanscom park, I just don't want it to fail. I don't want to waste taxpayer money and have it fail without giving it a trial run," Bench said."I don't think when you hear ‘pilot’ that you should fall for the ruse that it is. That somehow there's a need to learn how to do this," Jerram responded.Other city council members disagreed.“I think using children in South Omaha as a tool for politics and saying obviously there's somebody up on the third floor who doesn't want it, that's just wrong,” said City Council member Aimee Melton.The council eventually approved the additional funds for the Summer Day Camp.Stothert said she's pleased with the City Council vote, and the slightly-amended budget."They weren't amending any department budget, so I think it just shows this process that we've been using since I've been mayor has been really working," she said, “I'm very pleased with the discussion today and those that passed, I will support, I'm not going to veto any of them.”The City Council also added $20,000 to the PACE program, marking the first time the city has helped fund the police effort of providing sports activities to at-risk kids.They added more than $20,000 to the ReConnect program, assisting families and youth involved in the juvenile justice system.