It's not likely Lincoln Mayor Chris Beutler could face the same kind of criticism that Omaha Mayor Jim Suttle has faced in recent days for leasing a vehicle at a 24 percent interest rate.
Posted: Wednesday, July 8, 2009 12:00 am
Man, Omaha's new mayor just keeps stepping in one manure pile after another.
His latest was the Omaha World-Herald's discovery that he's leasing a red Dodge Durango at a 24 percent interest rate.
Geez, we knew Omaha was facing increasingly heavy debt loads - what with bills like that $1.6 billion obligation to fix its sewers and $500 million pension fund shortfall - but is the city's credit that bad?
And so, you wonder, could that happen here? Not bloody likely:
* Lincoln Mayor Chris Beutler drives his own car - a rather crappy white 2000 Ford Focus hatchback. And he doesn't even claim mileage reimbursement from the city.
* All leases must be approved by the Lincoln City Council, whereas the Omaha lease escaped council scrutiny because it cost less than $20,000 annually.
* Lincoln's purchasing agent is not a big fan of leasing vehicles. When he began working for the city, he scrapped about 20 vehicle leases.
Lincoln looks at each bid and decides whether it's more economical to lease or buy, and often only leases big vehicles, like firetrucks.
Little tension between mayor and governor?
A few weeks ago, I interviewed Gov. Dave Heineman about the troubled state institution for developmentally disabled people in Beatrice.
At the end of the interview, I took the opportunity to ask the governor about rumored tension between him and Lincoln officials.
I'd heard he gets aggravated with Lincoln on occasion.
"I don't think they aggravate me," he said. "I've tried to share that the future is contingent upon Lincoln and Omaha growing."
He said Lincoln needs to have a "laser-like focus" on growing its private sector and not just rely on university and government jobs.
"I would like to see Lincoln have a stronger, more vibrant private sector," he said. "I would just like to see the city put a greater focus on good, high-paying jobs."
Beutler's chief of staff, Rick Hoppe, said the mayor agrees with the governor and has supported private sector development through such proposals as the Development Services Center. That's a one-stop development shop designed to cut bureaucratic red tape at city hall.
Hoppe also pointed out Beutler's proposal to put $6 million in one-time cash into a fund reserved for high-impact economic development projects.
He said the mayor has worked for more roads money and hopes the governor will help Lincoln recoup more of the gas tax revenue it sends the state.
First Antelope Valley project now fights Antelope Valley 'taking'
A Lincoln developer is fighting the city's attempt to take, by eminent domain, 55 parking spaces near a downtown medical building at 18th and O streets.
The city wants the space for the Big Road -the future six-lane 19th Street that will run from K to Y streets, where it will connect with the Antelope Valley Parkway.
The Antelope Valley Project wants to gobble up the parking lot east of the building that houses the Downtown Physicians Group. The property is owned by A.V. LLC, and the investment group's managing partner, Kent Thompson, said if they give up the parking, "it will kill the physicians" who work in the building, even though it wouldn't take all of their parking.
"Parking (downtown) is more valuable than buildings," he said, and if they lose the parking, "the city has essentially condemned the building."
According to court documents, the Joint Antelope Valley Authority offered $342,000 for the property in November 2008, based on its appraisal of the property, but A.V. did not respond to the authority's repeated requests for a counteroffer. Three appraisers upheld the city's offer, but A.V. is appealing.
Thompson said the condemnation process is an uphill battle because those appraisers do a lot of work for the government and so don't have much incentive to disagree with the city.
Ironically, the Downtown Physicians project was the first Antelope Valley project when it moved into the former DuTeau Chevrolet building in 2003. The building also houses a thrift store and lottery offices.
Reach Deena Winter at 473-2642 or dwinter@journalstar.com.