- Firefighters ask city council to override Mayor Stothert's budget veto
- Resolution would ensure Omaha Fire Department has enough budget for new staff
- City law department believes the resolution puts a federal grant in jeopardy
- Motion to override veto failed, but resolution can be revisited in November
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Last week Mayor Jean Stothert vetoed a resolution that would ensure the Omaha Fire Department would have a big enough budget to 18 new firefighters. Tuesday, the Omaha Professional Firefighters union is asked city council to override her veto.
The resolution was a collaborative effort between Council President Pete Festersen and the union. It states that id the fire department was not awarded the SAFER grant the city would find other revenue sources to supply the 1.2 million dollars needed for more staffing.
Trevor Towey says the department was denied federal funding in 2024 and wants to have back up plan if history repeats itself.
"We're going on three years without receiving the funding and it seems appropriate to us that absent that funding, we would just put it in the budget," said Towey.
The city law department believes that the resolution puts the grant in jeopardy because it says local government cannot use federal funding to supplant staff funding. Council member Don Rowe echoed the law departments beliefs.
"The last thing that I want to do today is to vote to jeopardize our ability to get the grant. I don't know exactly when they're gonna make determinations or how they make determinations at FEMA. I've been, I've been on their website and it seems like they make decisions every day," said Rowe.
A motion to override the mayors veto failed 3-3. But, it is not the end of the road, since it's a resolution not an amendment it can be revisited in November.
"It's more traumatic emergencies that our members are responding to, that takes a toll both physically and emotionally and so to have more members that can help with that workload is, you know, is just going to help out tremendously. And let's be honest, provide a better service to the citizens of Omaha, which is our top priority," said Towey.
The city will find out if they will receive the safer grant in the next 2 weeks.
