Premium ContentMouse over Home then click on Premium Content for information.Several Omaha City Council members bristled Friday at Mayor Jim Suttle's decision to ask the council to reconsider the proposed labor agreement with the city's fire union that it already voted down last week.
Those council members, critics of the proposed agreement, suggested Suttle should instead head back to the bargaining table.
"It's safe to assume the proposal will be dealt with swiftly with a clear message that rather than waste taxpayers' time, he should be back at the table," said Councilman Chris Jerram. "(The mayor) needs to be back at the table negotiating, rather than posturing."
Jerram said the council could vote Tuesday to put the agreement on file.
The latest sparring over the contract came as the Omaha police union told the city that it may sue to split the police and fire pension fund into two separate systems.
Attorneys for the Omaha Police Officers' Association sent a letter to Suttle on Thursday, saying police officers would not take responsibility for a large shortfall in the city's police and fire pension fund. The letter comes in the wake of the impasse over the fire contract.
"The political posturing needs to stop," Suttle said of the council during a Friday press conference. "I am asking them to reconsider their decision to do nothing. I am giving them a second chance to think seriously about the consequences of leaving this contract, that includes many but not all of their requests, in limbo."
Council member Jean Stothert said the council has no desire to revisit Suttle's contract.
"The original contract does not have the support of a majority of the City Council. We've made that very clear," she said. "What's very unfortunate is the union and the mayor refuse to listen."
Council member Pete Festersen also reiterated his opposition to the deal.
However, council member Ben Gray, a supporter of Suttle's original deal, said the council needs to approve the contract.
"I am not willing to play Russian roulette with taxpayer dollars," he said during Friday's press conference.
Suttle's fire contract contains pension-fixing provisions that would help address a long-term shortfall in the police and fire pension fund that's estimated at $573 million.
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