Local View: 'Where's the beef?'

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By GENE HANLON

We elect City Council members whom we hope will be visionary leaders, people who can make thoughtful decisions that are in the best interests of our city in the long term. Unfortunately, we get politicians who make demagogic decisions that they believe will help ensure their re-election to office.

The City Council is so intent on cutting the city budget that at the City-County Commons meeting on Monday, the City Council and County Board discussed the use of prisoners for city services such as maintaining parks and providing cleanup, mowing and snow removal.

Do the residents of Lincoln want the quality of our community deteriorated to the point where the city must rely on prisoners to provide basic services to our residents? If local government deems an activity a necessary community service, doesn’t it make sense to continue to allot funding to pay employees who are dependable and hard working to provide that service?

Each election season, candidates for office stress the importance of job creation and economic development as the engine to power a growing community. It is important to note that in the Lincoln economy the government sector is a major employer.

According to 2004 Nebraska Department of Labor annual employment data for the Lincoln Metropolitan Statistical Area, three leading employment sectors are educational services with 21,489 people (including state and local government workers); health care and social assistance with 21,090 workers; and 17,128 government workers at the federal, state and local level. The University of Nebraska Bureau of Business Research states there is a 1.5 economic multiplier effect on the wages paid to these workers because they buy other local goods and services with the wages they receive. Government employees provide a significant economic contribution to Lincoln’s economy. It does nothing for the long-term economic health of Lincoln to cut city workers and substitute them with prison labor.

Where is our visionary leadership? Elected officials need to look beyond the next election cycle in making critical decisions that affect the long-term health of our community. What do we want Lincoln to look like in 20 years?

As the capital for this great state, our elected officials have a commitment to help keep Lincoln a growing and vibrant city. That cannot happen if elected officials pander to special interest groups that want to cut government spending. Property taxes in Lincoln are 45 percent less than they were in fiscal year 1992-93. Greater investment is needed in local government now to ensure a healthy city for our children and grandchildren. That means our elected officials need to, at some point, make the difficult decision to raise property taxes or find other revenue sources.

Unfortunately, through the decisions of current and past elected officials, we don’t even have enough money to maintain or upgrade Centennial Mall, the front door to the State Capitol building. Lincoln recently has lost local businesses and attractions, including the State Fair. I am very fearful that if elected officials continue following the course of “no increase in property taxes” that we will lose our reputation as the Star City, whose excellent parks and school system serve as a model for the rest of the state. What will be next? Losing the State Capitol to another community?

Let’s turn these policies around and elect leaders with some “visionary beef” who are willing to make difficult decisions and provide necessary investments to maintain a beautiful and vibrant city of the future, not one that wants to lose ground and cut services to save a few costs.

Gene Hanlon is past president of the Lincoln City Employees Association and currently serves on its Board of Directors.