Mayor Jean Stothert held a conference on Thursday, Jan. 23 announcing her plans to issue a $200 million bond to rehabilitate and reconstruct roads throughout the city of Omaha.
Mayor Stothert said, “the city should be spending $75 million a year to resurface roads” the current amount being spent is only $41 million meaning a $34 million per year shortfall that this bond hopes to cover. The bond will increase the tax levy to about $35 per year per on a house valued at $100,000.
The bond will need the approval of the Omaha City Council before it can appear on the primary ballot this May to be voted upon by the citizens of Omaha.
“This one levy increase will be sustainable,” said Mayor Stothert. This bond issue was created after two years of research into why the streets were so deteriorated and how much money it would require to repair them.
“Over $13 million was spent repairing potholes last year,” said the mayor. She sees this as just a band-aid for the real issue that this bond would remedy. The mayor said she does not like raising the tax levy but this way the citizens would be able to vote on the issue.
“The unimproved streets are included in the bond,” said the mayor. However, this bond does not include anything for bike lanes, Orbit, or streetcars. This bond is only for road repair.
Should the bond be approved by voters, road crews could begin work starting this year and continue for the next five years. At the end of five years, a new bond would have to be voted for. The mayor sees this a good thing and said it will show the voters how well the bond worked next time they go to vote.
“Conditions of the streets are a high priority,” said the mayor.
How will road crews handle all the extra work?
What roads will be under repair fist?
What if voters don’t approve the bond?
Will this effect current road projects?
How have other cities tackled this issue?
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