Latest / The KFAB Comment Line with Jean Stothert / Reviewing Dan Osborn Interview and Sewer Tax

Transcript

Reviewing Dan Osborn Interview and Sewer Tax · The KFAB Comment Line with Jean Stothert

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: I'm your host, Gene Stothert, and Peyton Heilach, my producer,
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: is also here. Good morning, Peyton.
• 0:06
  Speaker 2: Good morning, Gene. How are you on this dreary day?
• 0:08
  Speaker 2: I'm doing pretty good.
• 0:09
  Speaker 3: I made a cup of coffee and I left it
• 0:11
  Speaker 3: outside the studio, so that'll have to wait.
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: Are you going to bolt out of here any minute
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: and make me press all those buttons over there?
• 0:17
  Speaker 2: No, never.
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: Hopefully not. But thank you all for being with us today.
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: We want to hear from you. We want to hear
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: from you about yesterday's program and the day before, too.
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: So we want to hear your feedback. We want to
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: hear comments, concerns, questions, complaints, anything goes. City, state, national,
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: the world. And we always have plenty of good guests.
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: Yesterday we had U.S. Senate candidate Dan Osborne on. And
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: I think that that has a few comments still coming in.
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: And I want to hear from you about that interview, too.
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: But you're always going to have plenty of opinions from me, too.
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: I'm here to give you my opinion, too. But it
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: is your chance. to speak up and sound off please
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: send your emails to comment at kfab.com you can call
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: us at 402-558-1110 or you could leave us a recorded
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: message on the talkback mic and we'll play it on
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: the air but we're happy you are with us peyton
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: i'm pretty crabby today i'm just going to tell you
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: that so yesterday i went and got a flu shot
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: in one arm and a covid shot in the other
• 1:19
  Speaker 1: And my arms are so sore today. Now, don't you
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: all start sending emails debating the COVID vaccine because, number one,
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: I'm pretty old. Number two, I have asthma. Number three,
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: I'm going to take a few trips out of the
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: country this year. So it is recommended. I will just
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: tell you, my husband, Kevin, who is super, super smart
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: and a medical doctor, will not get the COVID vaccine today.
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: So here we are, married two different people. One of
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: us got it. One will not get it. So it's
• 1:53
  Speaker 1: up to you whether you get it or not. But
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: I got it, and I got one in one arm
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: and one in the other. Actually, the influenza arm is
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: much sore.
• 2:02
  Speaker 2: Yes, it is.
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: I can barely move it. But that will go away. Okay,
• 2:05
  Speaker 1: I don't want to be a wimp about this.
• 2:06
  Speaker 4: Yes.
• 2:07
  Speaker 3: I don't really like it. I don't really like shots. Well,
• 2:11
  Speaker 3: you know— I'm not talking about what is in the shot.
• 2:14
  Speaker 3: I'm talking about the physical shot of the thing going
• 2:18
  Speaker 3: in my arm.
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: The mechanics of sticking a long needle into your muscle.
• 2:22
  Speaker 5: Yeah.
• 2:22
  Speaker 1: You know, from being a former critical care nurse, Peyton,
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: I am so good at giving shots. I could give
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: my own. I bet you I could still draw blood
• 2:32
  Speaker 1: and put in an IV. I've put in so many.
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: But it's been— since I've done it. So I don't
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: think too much about getting a shot, but not when
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: I'm getting it. But man, this is, my arm is sore.
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: So sometimes people's arms get sore and I had to
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: get the super duper flu vaccine that's meant for people
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: that are 65 or older.
• 2:53
  Speaker 2: I think they call that the senior dose. I believe
• 2:56
  Speaker 2: they are.
• 2:57
  Speaker 1: I believe they do. So you don't have to get
• 2:59
  Speaker 1: that one. But maybe that's why my arm is so sore.
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: But how did you all feel about our interview yesterday
• 3:05
  Speaker 1: with Dan Osborne? And, you know, let me just tell
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: you this. I have a very good friend that sent
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: me a text right afterwards. And he said, don't tell
• 3:13
  Speaker 1: me you're a Democrat now. And if you're listening, you
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: know who I'm talking about. And I said, are you?
• 3:18
  Speaker 1: I'm serious because I had Dan Osborne on this show.
• 3:22
  Speaker 1: You're questioning whether I'm a Democrat or a Republican. You know,
• 3:27
  Speaker 1: that's what I want to do with this show. I
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: want to get all sides on and let you make
• 3:32
  Speaker 1: your decision. I was asking him just a ton of
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: different questions on different issues. And I said, you're on
• 3:39
  Speaker 1: record now, Dan. You're talking to the public. People are
• 3:41
  Speaker 1: listening and they're going to hold you to these answers.
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: So then you make up your mind at least once.
• 3:47
  Speaker 1: Peyton and listeners, he came on. He came to the studio.
• 3:51
  Speaker 1: We have asked and asked and asked Denise Powell, who
• 3:54
  Speaker 1: has been the self-proclaimed leader in this community for years now,
• 4:01
  Speaker 1: who I've never heard of, who refuses to answer, who
• 4:04
  Speaker 1: refuses to come on the show, who won't even respond
• 4:07
  Speaker 1: to us.
• 4:08
  Speaker 2: And she's running for Congress.
• 4:10
  Speaker 1: I mean, I've asked Lynn Waltz also and have been
• 4:14
  Speaker 1: talking to her people, and they said they're trying to
• 4:18
  Speaker 1: arrange something, but we'll see. But I want to have
• 4:21
  Speaker 1: all sides on so you could hear both sides. You
• 4:24
  Speaker 1: make up your mind who you're going to vote for.
• 4:27
  Speaker 1: My point all along has been please just get out
• 4:30
  Speaker 1: and vote. Know what's on the ballot. The city doesn't
• 4:34
  Speaker 1: have any bond issues on now, but going back to
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: Kathleen Kauth's interview last week, know what these bond issues
• 4:39
  Speaker 1: are and vote either yes or no on them. You
• 4:42
  Speaker 1: vote no if you totally disagree, if you don't understand anything.
• 4:46
  Speaker 1: Don't vote no. I mean, that is the worst thing
• 4:49
  Speaker 1: you could possibly do. And so I want you to
• 4:52
  Speaker 1: be an informed voter. And that's why we have everybody
• 4:55
  Speaker 1: that will agree to.
• 4:56
  Speaker 2: Come on this show.
• 4:57
  Speaker 1: And you've got to give, I think, Dan Osborne a
• 4:59
  Speaker 1: lot of credit for coming in to this right-leaning radio show.
• 5:05
  Speaker 1: It's conservative talk, and he knows that. But I wanted
• 5:08
  Speaker 1: to give him a fair interview because I have been
• 5:11
  Speaker 1: interviewed so many times, and I have been bushwhacked. on
• 5:16
  Speaker 1: so many interviews especially by tv reporters because they used
• 5:20
  Speaker 1: to come in and say well okay i'm going to
• 5:22
  Speaker 1: talk to you about this and then they get the
• 5:24
  Speaker 1: cameras rolling and they wouldn't talk to you at all
• 5:27
  Speaker 1: about what they said but they would just ambush you
• 5:30
  Speaker 1: with something else and so i don't want to be
• 5:33
  Speaker 1: that kind of an interviewer so let's hear what you
• 5:36
  Speaker 1: have to think.
• 5:37
  Speaker 3: Yeah gene and i just say i do have a
• 5:39
  Speaker 3: phone call in the queue i want to get to
• 5:40
  Speaker 3: that here in just a second But I just want
• 5:42
  Speaker 3: to read a few different emails with some different sentiments
• 5:46
  Speaker 3: about the interview.
• 5:48
  Speaker 1: I did tell– I got to tell you. Go ahead,
• 5:49
  Speaker 1: but I got to tell you. I did– like I
• 5:51
  Speaker 1: always do, I send a brief text to my guest
• 5:55
  Speaker 1: afterwards and just say thank you for being on. But
• 5:57
  Speaker 1: I did tell Dan– Osborne that yesterday I just skimmed.
• 6:03
  Speaker 1: I never look at Facebook anymore and I don't look
• 6:07
  Speaker 1: at KFABs anymore. It's not good for my mental health.
• 6:09
  Speaker 1: But I skimmed them yesterday after you put a video
• 6:12
  Speaker 1: up of me saying, you know, the interview is posted
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: in a podcast now. And there was maybe 30 comments
• 6:18
  Speaker 1: and they were divided whether they said, hey, that was
• 6:21
  Speaker 1: great and fair. Others, why did you do this or
• 6:24
  Speaker 1: that or the other? But one person called both me
• 6:26
  Speaker 1: and Dan a turd. Can I say that word on
• 6:29
  Speaker 1: the radio?
• 6:30
  Speaker 5: Yeah.
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: And I thought, okay, is that the best you could do?
• 6:33
  Speaker 1: They called both me. They said both me and Dan
• 6:35
  Speaker 1: were turds.
• 6:36
  Speaker 2: Like step it up. Yeah, step it up.
• 6:37
  Speaker 1: Give me something a good one. Let me tell you,
• 6:39
  Speaker 1: I've been called a lot worse than that. But thanks
• 6:41
  Speaker 1: for your comments.
• 6:42
  Speaker 3: Yeah, it's always good. Just a few emails here. Nice
• 6:46
  Speaker 3: job today. We don't always get fair and balanced when
• 6:50
  Speaker 3: it comes to an interview. I appreciated your questions and
• 6:53
  Speaker 3: you giving him a chance to speak. You've already touched
• 6:56
  Speaker 3: on that a little bit. I'm glad you were able
• 6:59
  Speaker 3: to get– day in on your show, get him on record. However,
• 7:03
  Speaker 3: many politicians say one thing to get elected and then
• 7:06
  Speaker 3: govern differently. And this is a candidate I feel like is.
• 7:10
  Speaker 3: That problem is staring us in the face. Then you
• 7:12
  Speaker 3: hold them accountable, folks.
• 7:14
  Speaker 2: That's your job as the voter.
• 7:15
  Speaker 1: Absolutely. And I'm telling you, I'll bring it back to
• 7:19
  Speaker 1: John Ewing, too. John Ewing made a lot of promises.
• 7:22
  Speaker 1: He was totally against that streetcar. He was not going
• 7:26
  Speaker 1: to have any more sinkholes or potholes. There was a
• 7:28
  Speaker 1: lot of promises made. You've got to hold your elected
• 7:31
  Speaker 1: officials accountable and hold them accountable at the voting booth
• 7:35
  Speaker 1: the next time.
• 7:36
  Speaker 2: Yes, yes.
• 7:37
  Speaker 5: I agree.
• 7:39
  Speaker 3: It's not a newfound discovery here, but I like to
• 7:44
  Speaker 3: believe if you want to have an opinion, you got
• 7:46
  Speaker 3: to vote. You don't get the right to complain if
• 7:48
  Speaker 3: you don't vote.
• 7:49
  Speaker 2: Absolutely.
• 7:50
  Speaker 1: Hold your elected officials accountable for what they have promised
• 7:56
  Speaker 1: during that campaign and then what they deliver.
• 7:59
  Speaker 3: Last email here before the phone call. I found Dan
• 8:02
  Speaker 3: Osborne's so-called, quote, apology, unquote, degrading. The vast majority of
• 8:08
  Speaker 3: Nebraska voters, with his vile language, it didn't come off
• 8:13
  Speaker 3: as genuine or sincere. He's apologizing because he got caught,
• 8:17
  Speaker 3: not because he is sorry. Yep, and that's an opinion
• 8:21
  Speaker 3: that you have from that. And to the phone lines
• 8:23
  Speaker 3: we go. Sam, thank you for hanging on for me.
• 8:25
  Speaker 3: You are live with Gene Stothert here on KFAB.
• 8:28
  Speaker 2: Good morning, Sam.
• 8:28
  Speaker 4: Morning, Mayor. I thought overall it was really balanced, like
• 8:36
  Speaker 4: everyone's pretty much saying. The only two things that I
• 8:40
  Speaker 4: wish you would have really pressed him on was the
• 8:43
  Speaker 4: audio talking about he can't say he's pro men and
• 8:49
  Speaker 4: women sports, whatever he said. I wish you would have
• 8:54
  Speaker 4: really pressed him on that and say, so do you
• 8:58
  Speaker 4: not feel that way? Because he's just going to be
• 9:03
  Speaker 4: lockstep with all the rest of them once he gets elected.
• 9:06
  Speaker 4: We all know that.
• 9:07
  Speaker 1: We hope that, yes.
• 9:10
  Speaker 4: The second thing that matters to me a lot is
• 9:14
  Speaker 4: my Second Amendment. And I don't know where he even
• 9:20
  Speaker 4: stands on it. I hear him say these things that
• 9:22
  Speaker 4: typical middle-of-the-road people say, oh, I'm all for your hunting rights. Well,
• 9:27
  Speaker 4: it's not your right to hunt. It's your right to
• 9:29
  Speaker 4: bear arms, shall not be entrenched.
• 9:32
  Speaker 2: Yes.
• 9:32
  Speaker 4: It has nothing to do with hunting rights. So I
• 9:36
  Speaker 4: really wish you would have touched on that because there's
• 9:39
  Speaker 4: a lot of firearm owners in the state, and I've
• 9:44
  Speaker 4: yet to hear him get pressed on that.
• 9:46
  Speaker 1: You know, you're right on that, and I thought about
• 9:49
  Speaker 1: that afterwards. And I had probably– I'm looking at the
• 9:53
  Speaker 1: questions in front of me now. I probably had 15
• 9:55
  Speaker 1: questions I wanted to get to, and that one was
• 9:59
  Speaker 1: not one I thought about. And after the show, hindsight
• 10:02
  Speaker 1: is always 50-50. But I thought, darn it, I wish
• 10:05
  Speaker 1: I would have brought up– Second Amendment rights, because I
• 10:08
  Speaker 1: would like to ask him his opinion on that or not.
• 10:10
  Speaker 2: Now, you said that, you know, and you.
• 10:13
  Speaker 1: Are right that a lot of candidates will say things
• 10:16
  Speaker 1: during the campaign and then they do something different afterwards.
• 10:20
  Speaker 1: But I mean, he's on. I started the show out
• 10:23
  Speaker 1: with saying you're on the record now. People are listening.
• 10:25
  Speaker 1: And people are going to expect you to follow through
• 10:28
  Speaker 1: on what you're saying today. At this point, though, Sam,
• 10:32
  Speaker 1: during an election when you get just bombarded with radio
• 10:36
  Speaker 1: ads and TV ads, you don't know what to believe anymore.
• 10:40
  Speaker 1: And that's what's so frustrating anymore. And a lot of
• 10:43
  Speaker 1: these ads that are out there now, even the ones
• 10:46
  Speaker 1: that I'm watching in Iowa, which I won't even be
• 10:48
  Speaker 1: voting for, They're meant to confuse you. They're meant to
• 10:52
  Speaker 1: confuse the voter. And it just gets to the point
• 10:55
  Speaker 1: you're like, I don't know what to believe anymore. And
• 10:57
  Speaker 1: that's what's getting so frustrating, I think, about campaigns.
• 11:01
  Speaker 3: And, Jean, how many political interviews do we see where
• 11:04
  Speaker 3: a candidate is talking about themselves, what they believe in,
• 11:09
  Speaker 3: and what they stand on? Not very common. It's always
• 11:14
  Speaker 3: a– brash and– Attack your opponent. Attacking your opponent.
• 11:20
  Speaker 2: That's right. What are you running on?
• 11:22
  Speaker 5: Right.
• 11:22
  Speaker 1: It's very– I always used to tell my campaigns, let's
• 11:27
  Speaker 1: talk about why they should vote for me. Let's not
• 11:30
  Speaker 1: talk about why they shouldn't vote for my opponent. And
• 11:34
  Speaker 1: then the old standard about campaigns too is is don't
• 11:38
  Speaker 1: just keep on picking at your opponent. If you want
• 11:42
  Speaker 1: to come back and you want to start swinging, it's
• 11:45
  Speaker 1: got to be a gut punch. It's got to be
• 11:48
  Speaker 1: a knockout. You do something, you catch him in something,
• 11:51
  Speaker 1: you go for it, and then you back away and
• 11:53
  Speaker 1: go back to talking about yourself again. You don't just
• 11:56
  Speaker 1: keep on picking around the edges. If you got something big,
• 11:59
  Speaker 1: bring it up and then go back to talking about
• 12:02
  Speaker 1: yourself again and not just everything that.
• 12:05
  Speaker 2: You bring up.
• 12:06
  Speaker 1: You're pick, pick, picking at your opponent because then it
• 12:08
  Speaker 1: gets to the point that people just stop listening.
• 12:12
  Speaker 3: They don't know who to believe. Another phone call here
• 12:14
  Speaker 3: is Pete. Thank you for holding on, Pete. You're live
• 12:17
  Speaker 3: with Gene Stothert on KFAB.
• 12:19
  Speaker 2: Good morning, Pete.
• 12:21
  Speaker 5: Yeah, well, thank you. Thanks for having me, and I
• 12:24
  Speaker 5: appreciate the job you've done in the past.
• 12:27
  Speaker 4: Just a couple things.
• 12:28
  Speaker 5: I think you kind of let old Dan slither off
• 12:31
  Speaker 5: the hook. Most of the time, you should use a
• 12:33
  Speaker 5: barb on your hook so they can't slither off, and
• 12:36
  Speaker 5: this time it was kind of almost like a safety pin. Anyway,
• 12:38
  Speaker 5: a couple things. When you asked him about a sanctuary city,
• 12:42
  Speaker 5: he said, I don't know what they are. Well, most people,
• 12:44
  Speaker 5: if you came from Mars, just landed here on Earth,
• 12:47
  Speaker 5: you wouldn't know what a sanctuary city is, but most
• 12:49
  Speaker 5: toddlers probably even know what a sanctuary city is. And
• 12:52
  Speaker 5: you kind of let him off the hook on that one.
• 12:54
  Speaker 5: And the second one is when he said he didn't
• 12:58
  Speaker 5: coordinate with any Democrat people. Well, you know, first of all,
• 13:01
  Speaker 5: that one recording, supposedly that is with the Jane Cleb
• 13:04
  Speaker 5: when he was saying, Jane, I don't know what I
• 13:06
  Speaker 5: should tell the people. And you kind of let him
• 13:08
  Speaker 5: off the hook there because I think that kind of
• 13:10
  Speaker 5: shows that he's been in contact and they talk strategy.
• 13:14
  Speaker 4: So those are.
• 13:14
  Speaker 5: My two points that I think that you should have
• 13:16
  Speaker 5: used a barbed hook on that one. And I'll let
• 13:19
  Speaker 5: you answer.
• 13:19
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I appreciate you saying that because, Pete, I'm telling you,
• 13:22
  Speaker 1: my husband told me the same thing. He thought I
• 13:25
  Speaker 1: was too soft and that we have emails saying I
• 13:29
  Speaker 1: was too rude and interrupted him and I was accusing
• 13:34
  Speaker 1: him of too many things. So everybody's got a different opinion.
• 13:39
  Speaker 1: The Sanctuary City comment, I just thought it stood for itself.
• 13:44
  Speaker 1: I mean, I asked him, did he support Sanctuary Cities?
• 13:47
  Speaker 1: And he said, I don't know what you're talking about. Done.
• 13:50
  Speaker 1: He told the public he didn't know what a Sanctuary
• 13:52
  Speaker 1: City was, and I just left it at that.
• 13:54
  Speaker 2: And I know you have more to talk about here, Jean.
• 13:56
  Speaker 3: I just got an email from Nick, and I think
• 13:58
  Speaker 3: he said something really good to your point. His non-answer
• 14:01
  Speaker 3: to the Sanctuary City question begged for a follow-up, but
• 14:05
  Speaker 3: the initial non-reply might have gotten lost in– following conversation
• 14:10
  Speaker 3: if you poked on it. Instead, his silence spoke volumes,
• 14:15
  Speaker 3: at least to me.
• 14:15
  Speaker 1: That's kind of how I thought. I had so many
• 14:17
  Speaker 1: questions and I thought he made the statement. He said
• 14:20
  Speaker 1: that it stood for itself. Now, coordinating with the Dems,
• 14:25
  Speaker 1: the one thing I really pushed with him is I said,
• 14:29
  Speaker 1: did you coordinate or did you talk with Cindy Burbank
• 14:34
  Speaker 1: before and after the election? I did press him on that,
• 14:37
  Speaker 1: and I said, did you talk with her? Did you
• 14:39
  Speaker 1: know that if she won, she was going to drop
• 14:42
  Speaker 1: out so then you had a clear pathway here to
• 14:45
  Speaker 1: be the opponent?
• 14:46
  Speaker 2: I did press him on that one.
• 14:49
  Speaker 1: But I did bring up when I said you were–
• 14:51
  Speaker 1: another audio that you were caught on that you were
• 14:56
  Speaker 1: talking to Jane Klebb, and he did not deny that.
• 15:00
  Speaker 1: And so obviously– and he– and I also asked him,
• 15:04
  Speaker 1: are you endorsed by the Nebraska Democrat Party?
• 15:06
  Speaker 2: And he said, yes, I am.
• 15:08
  Speaker 1: And I did bring up– the other thing I did
• 15:10
  Speaker 1: bring up is that although he is definitely– he's an independent.
• 15:16
  Speaker 1: He's not registered as a Democrat. He's not registered as
• 15:20
  Speaker 1: a Republican. But I said your platforms align with the
• 15:25
  Speaker 1: Democrat Party. Your platforms do not align with the Republican Party.
• 15:30
  Speaker 1: So I said– so why do you think that the
• 15:33
  Speaker 1: Democrats are supporting you? And his answer was, if you remember,
• 15:37
  Speaker 1: and I'm paraphrasing here, it was we both want the
• 15:41
  Speaker 1: same thing. We both want to defeat Pete Ricketts. The
• 15:45
  Speaker 1: Democrats want to defeat Pete Ricketts. I want to defeat
• 15:49
  Speaker 1: Pete Ricketts. So that's how he said that they are
• 15:52
  Speaker 1: more similar than– Not. So I think that he made
• 15:58
  Speaker 1: that pretty clear. I think he he felt like that
• 16:00
  Speaker 1: the Democrats want Pete Ricketts beat and he wants Pete
• 16:03
  Speaker 1: Ricketts beat. That's where their similarities are. But the way
• 16:06
  Speaker 1: he answered the questions I asked him from boys and
• 16:09
  Speaker 1: girls sports to ice to border enforcement, Social Security cards
• 16:15
  Speaker 1: for illegals and. Universal Health Care, his endorsements, DSA, the
• 16:23
  Speaker 1: Democrat Socialists of America, Kellogg. I mean, he answered the questions.
• 16:28
  Speaker 1: The one thing I wish I had a longer time
• 16:30
  Speaker 1: to really ask him more detailed questions about was campaign finance.
• 16:35
  Speaker 1: And I wish I had the time to dig a
• 16:37
  Speaker 1: lot more into that with these super PACs and out-of-state
• 16:41
  Speaker 1: money that is coming into these campaigns. And I wish
• 16:45
  Speaker 1: I had a little more time to press him on
• 16:47
  Speaker 1: that because it was true that in 2024, about 95%
• 16:54
  Speaker 1: of his money came from out-of-state donors. And in 2026,
• 16:58
  Speaker 1: the information that I got said 82.7% were coming from
• 17:06
  Speaker 1: out-of-state donors. So there was a lot of out-of-state donors.
• 17:09
  Speaker 1: I wish I could have pressed him more on that.
• 17:12
  Speaker 3: Dan Osborne said something, and I'm paraphrasing here. This is
• 17:15
  Speaker 3: not a quote, but something along the lines of, well,
• 17:21
  Speaker 3: it's a race that deserves donations from all around the country.
• 17:26
  Speaker 1: Yes, he did, because he said it's U.S. Senate, and
• 17:28
  Speaker 1: what the Senate does affects the entire country.
• 17:30
  Speaker 5: You're right.
• 17:30
  Speaker 2: He did say that. He said that it is. And
• 17:33
  Speaker 2: I agree.
• 17:34
  Speaker 3: I was like, okay, that's fair, but if that number
• 17:37
  Speaker 3: that you said, 82, I mean.
• 17:39
  Speaker 1: That's– In 2026.
• 17:41
  Speaker 2: That's the information I got. Significant out-of-state funding.
• 17:44
  Speaker 1: And that he had raised more money in California than
• 17:47
  Speaker 1: in Nebraska. And so– and he got money from Elizabeth Warren,
• 17:52
  Speaker 1: for example. And so those things, I wish I had
• 17:57
  Speaker 1: more time to press him on. The one thing I
• 17:59
  Speaker 1: pressed him on a bit was that he wasn't independent
• 18:02
  Speaker 1: and how are you going to get things done in
• 18:04
  Speaker 1: Congress today? being an independent, because it's divided Democrat, Republican.
• 18:08
  Speaker 1: And the first thing he brought up was George Washington
• 18:11
  Speaker 1: was elected president, and he was very much against party affiliation.
• 18:16
  Speaker 1: But that was in 1789. Oh, that was a good
• 18:20
  Speaker 1: board meeting, around the table conversation. Oh, oh, George Washington
• 18:24
  Speaker 1: doesn't like, oh, let's talk about, yeah. 237 years ago.
• 18:27
  Speaker 1: I don't buy it. And George Washington, many will say,
• 18:31
  Speaker 1: was one of our best presidents that we ever had.
• 18:34
  Speaker 1: I mean, he led us through the American Revolution against
• 18:38
  Speaker 1: the British Empire and gave America its independence.
• 18:42
  Speaker 2: I mean, great.
• 18:43
  Speaker 1: George Washington was a great president, but he was the
• 18:45
  Speaker 1: first president.
• 18:46
  Speaker 4: Right.
• 18:47
  Speaker 1: And so, I mean, things were different in 1789.
• 18:50
  Speaker 3: We want to hear from you guys today. Gene Sothert
• 18:52
  Speaker 3: in the KFAB comment line. My name is Peyton Highlock.
• 18:55
  Speaker 3: There's plenty of other topics that we are willing to discuss.
• 18:58
  Speaker 3: Dan Osborne is obviously the pinnacle of it.
• 19:01
  Speaker 2: So many other topics.
• 19:02
  Speaker 3: I have a few different areas that we could head, Jean,
• 19:04
  Speaker 3: that I know you had on your mind based on.
• 19:07
  Speaker 1: Early responses from the week. And let me say one
• 19:09
  Speaker 1: other thing, too. I mean, in person, he came in here,
• 19:12
  Speaker 1: sat down with us, you know, and some candidates will
• 19:15
  Speaker 1: only do it by phone. And that's OK because they're
• 19:18
  Speaker 1: busy or they're doing other things that day or the
• 19:21
  Speaker 1: next hour or whatever. But in person, he's a very
• 19:24
  Speaker 1: likable guy.
• 19:25
  Speaker 2: Yes. Came in, shake hands with everybody in here. Friendly, likable. Nice.
• 19:30
  Speaker 1: I mean, so it's not that he came in here.
• 19:33
  Speaker 1: I mean, honest to all of you listeners, he did
• 19:35
  Speaker 1: not come in here acting like a jerk at all.
• 19:37
  Speaker 1: He was very, very likable. And, you know, he's on
• 19:43
  Speaker 1: the record now of what he said. And all of
• 19:45
  Speaker 1: these candidates are. I just wish other candidates like our
• 19:49
  Speaker 1: good good friend Denise Powell, who won't even respond to
• 19:53
  Speaker 1: us or refuses to even talk on the radio with
• 20:00
  Speaker 1: the race against Brinker Harding for CD2. And I have
• 20:05
  Speaker 1: talked with Brinker many times on the air and we'll
• 20:07
  Speaker 1: talk a lot more. And the thing with Brinker too,
• 20:11
  Speaker 1: for example, Brinker Harding, I've worked with Brinker literally almost
• 20:15
  Speaker 1: every day for the last eight years. And I really
• 20:18
  Speaker 1: know Brinker very, very well. And I know Brinker is
• 20:22
  Speaker 1: an independent thinker. I know Brinker is not going to
• 20:25
  Speaker 1: be a rubber stamp to Trump or a yes person
• 20:28
  Speaker 1: to Trump. Brinker didn't always agree with me, but he
• 20:31
  Speaker 1: would always do it respectfully. He would come in and
• 20:34
  Speaker 1: he would tell me, I don't agree with this or that.
• 20:37
  Speaker 1: And here's the reason why. And we would have a discussion.
• 20:40
  Speaker 1: That's how disagreements with elected officials should be. And so
• 20:45
  Speaker 1: you could still then turn around and work together on many,
• 20:48
  Speaker 1: many other issues. And so I will stand up for
• 20:52
  Speaker 1: Brinker Harding anytime saying he is not a rubber stamper
• 20:55
  Speaker 1: yes man to Donald Trump.
• 20:57
  Speaker 3: Now, this is the KFAB Comment Line with Gene Stothert.
• 21:01
  Speaker 3: My name is Peyton Highlock. Gotten a lot of questions
• 21:04
  Speaker 3: and comments this morning, Gene. A lot of things are flowing.
• 21:07
  Speaker 5: Good.
• 21:08
  Speaker 3: I got this one changing topics a little bit. This
• 21:11
  Speaker 3: one is an email from Cap. Madam Mayor, why do
• 21:17
  Speaker 3: government leaders such as yourself and others allow the big
• 21:21
  Speaker 3: federal government making cities such as Omaha, through its citizens,
• 21:27
  Speaker 3: pay for their, quote, unfunded federal mandates. For example, sewer
• 21:33
  Speaker 3: separation mandates. Oh, I'm so glad. Did you say cap?
• 21:39
  Speaker 5: Cap.
• 21:40
  Speaker 1: I am so glad you asked that question. The reason
• 21:43
  Speaker 1: is you have no choice. This, like the sewer separation project,
• 21:48
  Speaker 1: call it the CSO, Combined Sewer Overflow Project, CSO, That
• 21:52
  Speaker 1: is an unfunded federal mandate that came down from the EPA,
• 21:57
  Speaker 1: a $ 2 billion unfunded mandate. And they had numerous cities
• 22:02
  Speaker 1: across the country that they combined their sanitary sewers with
• 22:07
  Speaker 1: their rain sewers. And normally that it was okay, but
• 22:11
  Speaker 1: if you have a lot of rain or some flooding,
• 22:14
  Speaker 1: those combine and you are dumping a lot of untreated
• 22:19
  Speaker 1: waste material everywhere. from the sanitary sewer into the Missouri River.
• 22:24
  Speaker 1: This came from the, I remember all the, I know
• 22:27
  Speaker 1: more about sewers than I ever thought I would. This
• 22:30
  Speaker 1: came from the Clean Water Act that was passed in
• 22:32
  Speaker 1: the 1970s. And it said in the Clean Water Act
• 22:37
  Speaker 1: that all public waterways will be swimmable and fishable.
• 22:42
  Speaker 2: That's what it said.
• 22:44
  Speaker 1: And if these sewers are combined like they are in
• 22:47
  Speaker 1: the older areas of our city, they overflow and they
• 22:51
  Speaker 1: dump raw sewage into the Missouri River.
• 22:54
  Speaker 2: That makes the E.
• 22:55
  Speaker 1: Coli amount in the Missouri River high and it is
• 22:58
  Speaker 1: not fishable and it is not swimmable. So the EPA
• 23:02
  Speaker 1: comes out and they said Omaha and as well as
• 23:05
  Speaker 1: I forgot how many other cities across the country said
• 23:08
  Speaker 1: had these unfunded mandates, and there were several cities that said,
• 23:12
  Speaker 1: we don't have the money to do it, we're not
• 23:14
  Speaker 1: going to do it. And they got their butt sued
• 23:17
  Speaker 1: by the federal government, had to pay a lot of
• 23:19
  Speaker 1: money fighting it, and ended up doing it anyway, and
• 23:22
  Speaker 1: then paying the cost of a lawsuit. When the federal
• 23:26
  Speaker 1: government says you must do something, you don't really have
• 23:30
  Speaker 1: a choice. You can't fight it. And this was an
• 23:33
  Speaker 1: unfunded $ 2 billion lawsuit. Federal mandate from the EPA. Now,
• 23:38
  Speaker 1: it was originally supposed to be done, oh gosh, I
• 23:42
  Speaker 1: got to stop and think, in 10 or 15 years.
• 23:45
  Speaker 1: I think it was 10 years originally. And we have
• 23:49
  Speaker 1: gotten two extensions. One was for the 2011 flood. And
• 23:56
  Speaker 1: so now the completion date of our project is 2037.
• 24:01
  Speaker 1: And we thought that spreading it out that long, that
• 24:05
  Speaker 1: there is going to be more and more technology that
• 24:08
  Speaker 1: has developed, and it has, so that we won't have
• 24:12
  Speaker 1: to do the project like originally designed. And that has
• 24:16
  Speaker 1: already happened because in the original design, at the end
• 24:19
  Speaker 1: of the project, there was going to be a big
• 24:22
  Speaker 1: tunnel that was like a reservoir along the river that
• 24:25
  Speaker 1: would hold water. They have found technology for rapid treatment
• 24:30
  Speaker 1: of the combined water problem. now that they can use
• 24:35
  Speaker 1: in all of the areas along the Missouri River where
• 24:38
  Speaker 1: they dump water from their sewer systems into it, that
• 24:41
  Speaker 1: now they don't have to build the tunnel at the end.
• 24:45
  Speaker 1: The tunnel was a third of the cost of the
• 24:47
  Speaker 1: entire project.
• 24:49
  Speaker 3: So just some follow-up questions that I have as you're
• 24:51
  Speaker 3: explaining this here. This project started in 08 or 09,
• 24:55
  Speaker 3: I believe, and then– With some of this technology and
• 25:00
  Speaker 3: then obviously along with the extension, the deadline being increased,
• 25:04
  Speaker 3: now we're looking at nearly just short of 30 years
• 25:07
  Speaker 3: of projects going on here. Yes. By stretching it out,
• 25:10
  Speaker 3: it could alleviate some of the pressure by not costing
• 25:13
  Speaker 3: so much. Each year, but then also new technology could
• 25:17
  Speaker 3: make it more affordable or lower the cost.
• 25:19
  Speaker 2: Absolutely.
• 25:19
  Speaker 1: Absolutely.
• 25:20
  Speaker 4: It can.
• 25:21
  Speaker 1: And it already has. And so originally now there is
• 25:24
  Speaker 1: there is rate ordinances that the city council passes and
• 25:29
  Speaker 1: it's recommended by a big team of engineers and the
• 25:32
  Speaker 1: public works department, etc., And it was originally projected to
• 25:37
  Speaker 1: pay for this project over the period of time originally
• 25:41
  Speaker 1: estimated that your sewer tax related to the CSO, the
• 25:46
  Speaker 1: Combined Sewer Overflow Project, would go up about 5% to
• 25:50
  Speaker 1: 6% per year. And now the annual rate increase is
• 25:55
  Speaker 1: about 1.4% a year, much, much less than originally projected
• 26:02
  Speaker 1: over from the original projection. And that current rate ordinance
• 26:07
  Speaker 1: that we have now runs through 2028. And so in 2028,
• 26:12
  Speaker 1: then the city council and all the engineers and the
• 26:15
  Speaker 1: team is going to look at it again.
• 26:17
  Speaker 2: They're going to see.
• 26:18
  Speaker 1: Where they're at with the project, what new technology has
• 26:21
  Speaker 1: been developed, how much more they need for the next
• 26:24
  Speaker 1: five or six years or whatever, and And then they
• 26:27
  Speaker 1: will set a new rate ordinance. But right now, that
• 26:30
  Speaker 1: rate ordinance is much, much less than it was originally
• 26:34
  Speaker 1: projected because of this new technology. So on your bill,
• 26:39
  Speaker 1: your MUD bill, you will see that sewer charge. And
• 26:42
  Speaker 1: I'm not sure how they have it listed. They might
• 26:44
  Speaker 1: have it CSO or sewer project. It should stay consistent.
• 26:49
  Speaker 1: It should be 1.39% rate increase annually. That amount should
• 26:54
  Speaker 1: be consistent. If your other water bill, sewer bill, goes
• 26:58
  Speaker 1: up and down, it's because the amount of water that
• 27:01
  Speaker 1: you're using. So a lot more people's water bill goes
• 27:04
  Speaker 1: up in the summer and down in the winter if
• 27:07
  Speaker 1: you're watering your lawn. I do that balance billing, so
• 27:10
  Speaker 1: I pay the same for 12 months because I do
• 27:13
  Speaker 1: use a lot more water in my yard in the summer.
• 27:15
  Speaker 3: I have two emails here that I'll kind of throw together.
• 27:18
  Speaker 3: They come from Tom and Brandon. Tom asks, my sewer
• 27:22
  Speaker 3: tax is different every month. Am I getting screwed over?
• 27:26
  Speaker 3: Brandon asks, on our water bill, at least on mine,
• 27:29
  Speaker 3: there is a water charge and there is a sewer charge.
• 27:32
  Speaker 3: Does the sewer charge stay with the water company or
• 27:35
  Speaker 3: is it passed on to the city?
• 27:37
  Speaker 2: It's a pass-through.
• 27:39
  Speaker 1: The sewer charge related to the CSO project, Combined Sewer
• 27:43
  Speaker 1: Overflow project, that is just a pass-through. MUD puts on
• 27:48
  Speaker 1: that bill what the city tells them to as far
• 27:51
  Speaker 1: as what that rate is and what the annual rate
• 27:54
  Speaker 1: increase is. And it's just a pass-through, and that amount
• 27:57
  Speaker 1: goes back to the city. But it's all based on
• 28:00
  Speaker 1: the size of the pipe that you have going into
• 28:04
  Speaker 1: your house or your business. And we all have a
• 28:07
  Speaker 1: water meter. And I think most of us have about
• 28:10
  Speaker 1: a four-inch pipe. Businesses, though, when we were debating this
• 28:15
  Speaker 1: cost– of what this project was going to cost. The
• 28:18
  Speaker 1: big water users I worked with a lot because they,
• 28:22
  Speaker 1: I mean, the amount that originally, based on just the
• 28:26
  Speaker 1: amount of water they used and not the size of
• 28:28
  Speaker 1: their pipe, was going to take the big water users
• 28:30
  Speaker 1: like Kellogg. Skinner Baking was a big water user. All
• 28:35
  Speaker 1: of the meatpacking industries in South Omaha were big water users.
• 28:39
  Speaker 1: It was going to chase them out of Omaha if
• 28:41
  Speaker 1: we did it by the amount of water they use.
• 28:43
  Speaker 1: So we did a lot of negotiating with that issue.
• 28:46
  Speaker 1: But they pay their fair share. They absolutely do. But
• 28:50
  Speaker 1: it's based on the size of the pipe in your meter,
• 28:53
  Speaker 1: the flow that you have going into your house. So
• 28:57
  Speaker 1: if you don't like getting socked with that extra amount
• 29:00
  Speaker 1: in the summer, I mean, like I said, you have
• 29:02
  Speaker 1: the option of doing a balanced 12-month billing that just
• 29:06
  Speaker 1: balances out over the year.
• 29:07
  Speaker 2: That's what I do.
• 29:10
  Speaker 3: That's very good information there, Gene. I'm getting some phone calls.
• 29:14
  Speaker 3: I'm getting some emails here. I think that is an
• 29:16
  Speaker 3: important distinction there with the sewer separation tax and the.
• 29:21
  Speaker 2: Sewer projects. And really, you have no choice.
• 29:24
  Speaker 1: I mean, if the federal government gives you a mandate,
• 29:28
  Speaker 1: if you don't do it or refuse to do it,
• 29:30
  Speaker 1: the federal government will sue you.
• 29:32
  Speaker 2: And you know what?
• 29:33
  Speaker 1: The federal government is going to win on this one.
• 29:36
  Speaker 1: And so in it it makes sense that we have
• 29:40
  Speaker 1: to separate these old sewers that are combined that end
• 29:44
  Speaker 1: up if we that overflowing and we have a lot
• 29:47
  Speaker 1: of waste material going into the missouri river it's bad
• 29:50
  Speaker 1: enough here but think of those downstream from us too.
• 29:53
  Speaker 2: You don't want any in the river. Yeah, Kansas City, St.
• 29:56
  Speaker 4: Louis.
• 29:57
  Speaker 1: I mean, no, you don't want that. And so you've
• 29:59
  Speaker 1: got to do your part here. And it makes sense.
• 30:03
  Speaker 1: But to be socked with a $ 2 billion project that
• 30:08
  Speaker 1: is going to have to be done within a very
• 30:10
  Speaker 1: short period of time, then– then the ratepayers are the
• 30:13
  Speaker 1: ones that are going to be paying it. And like
• 30:15
  Speaker 1: I said, there's been some cities across the country that
• 30:17
  Speaker 1: tried to fight it. They got sued by the federal
• 30:20
  Speaker 1: government and they lost and they ended up doing it anyway.
• 30:23
  Speaker 3: This is an interesting email from Nick. And this is,
• 30:26
  Speaker 3: I think, more of a conversation, Jean, rather than maybe
• 30:29
  Speaker 3: a black and white answer. Could the EPA have imposed
• 30:33
  Speaker 3: a sewer tap ban on Omaha until corrections were made?
• 30:38
  Speaker 3: And then in my own words here, I'm assuming that
• 30:40
  Speaker 3: if Omaha was like, we're not going to do this.
• 30:44
  Speaker 3: Nick goes on to say, in Pennsylvania, the state can
• 30:48
  Speaker 3: and has imposed bans on new taps for chronic issues.
• 30:54
  Speaker 3: A tap ban can kill a municipality's growth prospects.
• 30:57
  Speaker 1: Yes, it could.
• 30:58
  Speaker 2: Is that talking about adding new.
• 31:01
  Speaker 1: I'm not sure what they're asking about, a sewer tap ban.
• 31:04
  Speaker 1: I'm not sure what he's actually talking about here until
• 31:08
  Speaker 1: we wait to correct it. But you have to have
• 31:10
  Speaker 1: the money that is collected by MUD that I said
• 31:15
  Speaker 1: is a pass-through. You've got an annual rate increase of 1.4%
• 31:20
  Speaker 1: right now. That goes into a certain fund that is
• 31:24
  Speaker 1: a sewer fund that the city manages. And it can
• 31:28
  Speaker 1: only be used for the sewers. Now, it's to be
• 31:31
  Speaker 1: used for the project. But like I said, we are
• 31:34
  Speaker 1: finding now that the project is going to cost a
• 31:36
  Speaker 1: lot less than the $ 2 billion. Therefore, in 2011, Jim
• 31:42
  Speaker 1: Suttle was mayor at the time. Remember, we had the
• 31:44
  Speaker 1: bad flood in 2011. And some of our wastewater treatment plants,
• 31:48
  Speaker 1: which are along the river, got flooded and And they
• 31:51
  Speaker 1: needed a lot of repair. And we were able to
• 31:54
  Speaker 1: use some of that money that was collected for the
• 31:58
  Speaker 1: sewers that was in a fund to repair our wastewater
• 32:02
  Speaker 1: treatment plants. So we could still use it for sewer-related issues.
• 32:08
  Speaker 1: And that's what we did in 2011. But you can't
• 32:11
  Speaker 1: take that money and use it to resurface a road
• 32:14
  Speaker 1: or to.
• 32:15
  Speaker 2: Build a ballpark.
• 32:16
  Speaker 5: Right.
• 32:16
  Speaker 2: It has its own purpose.
• 32:18
  Speaker 3: Right. A sewer tap ban– essentially is a restriction, halting,
• 32:24
  Speaker 3: stopping new connections to a local wastewater treatment system. So
• 32:29
  Speaker 3: whatever is connected currently, whatever's flowing into a local wastewater
• 32:34
  Speaker 3: treatment No more can be added to that.
• 32:37
  Speaker 1: Well, and, you know, that happens because when we did
• 32:41
  Speaker 1: this rate ordinance, it's not just people within the city
• 32:44
  Speaker 1: of Omaha pay it because there's a lot of surrounding
• 32:48
  Speaker 1: communities all the way out to the Elkhorn River, too,
• 32:51
  Speaker 1: that use our wastewater treatment plants. And so they pay
• 32:55
  Speaker 1: with a bulk rate, but they pay for it, too, because,
• 32:58
  Speaker 1: you know, that old saying, all blank runs downhill.
• 33:02
  Speaker 5: Yeah.
• 33:02
  Speaker 4: Yes.
• 33:03
  Speaker 1: I mean, and that's true because those people out in
• 33:06
  Speaker 1: western Omaha and in Bellevue and in the surrounding communities, Gretna,
• 33:12
  Speaker 1: for example, tying into our system, those all go downhill
• 33:17
  Speaker 1: and use our wastewater treatment plants before it is flushed
• 33:20
  Speaker 1: into the Missouri River. And so everybody is paying that
• 33:25
  Speaker 1: uses our wastewater treatment plant.
• 33:26
  Speaker 3: So it's not just the citizens of Omaha. Last question here, Gene.
• 33:30
  Speaker 3: Comes from Edward, comment at kfab.com. What happens when the
• 33:34
  Speaker 3: sewer project is paid off? Will that fee be removed
• 33:38
  Speaker 3: from my bill?
• 33:38
  Speaker 4: Yes.
• 33:39
  Speaker 1: Yes.
• 33:40
  Speaker 2: Amazing.
• 33:40
  Speaker 1: When it is done, the project, like I said, is
• 33:43
  Speaker 1: to be complete in 2037. If they find more technology
• 33:48
  Speaker 1: and can get the job done before that, it will be.
• 33:51
  Speaker 1: And once that is done, that rate, if it's paid for,
• 33:55
  Speaker 1: will go off your bill.
• 33:56
  Speaker 2: So, yes, it will. Now, what MUD charges you above.
• 34:01
  Speaker 1: And beyond that for their bill every year, and they
• 34:05
  Speaker 1: have increased the charges, the ratepayers' charges, Every.
• 34:10
  Speaker 2: Single year, MUD has.
• 34:12
  Speaker 1: And that is related to what that MUD board decides
• 34:16
  Speaker 1: to do. And they will come back, a lot of them,
• 34:18
  Speaker 1: and say, oh, it's just because of the streetcar. And
• 34:21
  Speaker 1: that is not true. If you look back at your bill,
• 34:26
  Speaker 1: MUD has raised your rates almost every single year. So
• 34:33
  Speaker 1: that's above and beyond what is in there for this
• 34:36
  Speaker 1: sewer project.
• 34:37
  Speaker 3: Gene Stothert at the KFAB Comment Line. My name is
• 34:40
  Speaker 3: Peyton Highlock. Man, the comments are flowing today, Gene.
• 34:43
  Speaker 5: Good.
• 34:44
  Speaker 2: I love it. Good.
• 34:45
  Speaker 3: And I did get an email here, and we've been
• 34:48
  Speaker 3: doing this show together for quite some time now, many months,
• 34:51
  Speaker 3: and I know this one is— Since March.
• 34:53
  Speaker 2: Since March, and I know this one is right up
• 34:56
  Speaker 2: your alley.
• 34:56
  Speaker 3: Oh, boy.
• 34:57
  Speaker 2: Brandon sends an email. We already know.
• 35:00
  Speaker 3: From history that taxes never go away. just like the
• 35:05
  Speaker 3: restaurant tax?
• 35:07
  Speaker 1: Oh boy, I love that question because I love answering it.
• 35:11
  Speaker 1: Number one, the restaurant tax was never supposed to be temporary.
• 35:17
  Speaker 2: Never.
• 35:18
  Speaker 1: When it was first passed, it was during the subtle administration.
• 35:21
  Speaker 1: If you'll all bring it up, I voted no on
• 35:23
  Speaker 1: it because I thought it would hurt the restaurant industry. Originally,
• 35:27
  Speaker 1: it was supposed to, and estimated, to bring in about
• 35:32
  Speaker 1: $ 14 million a year with a 2.5% restaurant tax. About
• 35:39
  Speaker 1: $ 14 million a year. They needed to put more money
• 35:41
  Speaker 1: in the pension. They thought they needed to put about
• 35:44
  Speaker 1: 13 more in the pension. And they thought if we
• 35:47
  Speaker 1: do this restaurant tax, this will bring in the money
• 35:49
  Speaker 1: we need. That was during the subtle administration. The restaurant
• 35:52
  Speaker 1: tax is bringing in now about $ 47 million a year.
• 35:59
  Speaker 1: That goes into the general fund. It helps fund every
• 36:03
  Speaker 1: single city department. If we were to get rid of
• 36:06
  Speaker 1: the restaurant tax now, number one, people are still going
• 36:09
  Speaker 1: to our restaurants. They're not even paying attention to it.
• 36:12
  Speaker 2: It goes up.
• 36:12
  Speaker 1: The revenue goes up every year. So $ 47 million would
• 36:16
  Speaker 1: be a chunk of change to take out of the
• 36:18
  Speaker 1: general fund budget. Go online. Look, all the ordinances are
• 36:23
  Speaker 1: on there. The restaurant tax was passed as an ordinance
• 36:26
  Speaker 1: by the city council. Go online and look at it.
• 36:29
  Speaker 1: It says nothing about the fire and police pension. It
• 36:32
  Speaker 1: says nothing about it's temporary.
• 36:35
  Speaker 2: Nothing.
• 36:36
  Speaker 1: It says it is an occupation tax and all occupation
• 36:39
  Speaker 1: taxes go into the general fund.
• 36:41
  Speaker 4: Period.
• 36:42
  Speaker 1: I think it would be financially irresponsible for me or
• 36:46
  Speaker 1: John Ewing or any mayor to suggest to take that
• 36:50
  Speaker 1: restaurant tax away now and take $ 47 million out of
• 36:55
  Speaker 1: the general fund budget. Just think of the drastic cuts
• 36:58
  Speaker 1: you would have to do in every department.
• 37:00
  Speaker 2: And it goes up.
• 37:01
  Speaker 1: Every year, meaning people aren't struggling with it. Keep this
• 37:05
  Speaker 1: in mind, too. During big events like the College World Series,
• 37:08
  Speaker 1: a lot of that restaurant tax come in from people
• 37:11
  Speaker 1: that don't live in Omaha. Just like sales tax, a
• 37:14
  Speaker 1: lot comes in from people that don't live in Omaha.
• 37:17
  Speaker 2: And it's discretionary.
• 37:18
  Speaker 1: If you don't want to pay that restaurant tax, don't
• 37:21
  Speaker 1: go out and eat in a restaurant.
• 37:24
  Speaker 3: I was reading some emails. I don't know if you
• 37:26
  Speaker 3: said the percentage. Is the restaurant tax, what is it, 2.5%?
• 37:28
  Speaker 1: 2.5.
• 37:28
  Speaker 5: And I.
• 37:32
  Speaker 3: I mean, it's kind of a question to the audience
• 37:34
  Speaker 3: as well. Does that 2.5% tax on top of your
• 37:39
  Speaker 3: restaurant bill stop you from going out to eat?
• 37:42
  Speaker 1: By the receipts, it does not. And, you know, I
• 37:46
  Speaker 1: have asked the restaurants too. I said, would it help
• 37:49
  Speaker 1: at all to reduce it? And they said, oh, Lord, no.
• 37:52
  Speaker 1: You know, we've got it all calculated within our system
• 37:55
  Speaker 1: now that that 2.5%, they said it's not going to
• 37:59
  Speaker 1: help us. It's just going to cause us a lot
• 38:01
  Speaker 1: more problem. to take it from 2.5% to 2% or 2.5%
• 38:04
  Speaker 1: to 1.5%. But to eliminate it, it would take a
• 38:09
  Speaker 1: lot of money out of the general fund budget, and
• 38:11
  Speaker 1: it was never meant to be temporary. With the CSO,
• 38:15
  Speaker 1: that extra charge until this project that is a federal
• 38:19
  Speaker 1: mandate is complete, that money goes into a special fund.
• 38:22
  Speaker 1: But once it is done, they don't need to collect
• 38:25
  Speaker 1: that money anymore.
• 38:27
  Speaker 3: And I mean, the idea that restaurants and eating out
• 38:32
  Speaker 3: is expensive, I can be on board with that. I
• 38:35
  Speaker 3: could understand that. And I feel that sometimes myself. I'm
• 38:38
  Speaker 3: not worried about the two and a half percent restaurant tax.
• 38:40
  Speaker 3: I'm worried about the $ 18 cheeseburger and fries. I mean,
• 38:43
  Speaker 3: that's a little ridiculous.
• 38:44
  Speaker 5: Yes.
• 38:45
  Speaker 3: But the restaurant tax on a hundred dollar bill. You're
• 38:49
  Speaker 3: paying $ 2. 50.
• 38:50
  Speaker 1: I know it. And, you know, Peyton, since you go
• 38:53
  Speaker 1: to McDonald's most of the time for your cuisine. I do.
• 38:57
  Speaker 1: I bet you you don't even pay attention to it.
• 38:59
  Speaker 1: You know, in the beginning, there were several restaurants that
• 39:02
  Speaker 1: were so angry about it. They had on their receipt
• 39:06
  Speaker 1: subtle tax because Jim Settle promoted it.
• 39:10
  Speaker 2: But you know what? Restaurant said, it's not me. It's
• 39:12
  Speaker 2: not me.
• 39:13
  Speaker 4: I promise.
• 39:13
  Speaker 3: I know.
• 39:13
  Speaker 1: And you know, I mean, honestly, I voted against it
• 39:17
  Speaker 1: because I thought as a city council member, it was
• 39:19
  Speaker 1: really going to hurt the restaurant industry. But Jim Settle
• 39:22
  Speaker 1: was right with this restaurant tax. And he made the
• 39:25
  Speaker 1: right decision with this because it brought in tons of
• 39:29
  Speaker 1: money and it the restaurant business crashed down, I would say, yep,
• 39:33
  Speaker 1: it's hurting us. But it's not. Even in COVID, it
• 39:36
  Speaker 1: was bringing in like $ 30 million a year, even during COVID.
• 39:40
  Speaker 1: And so, yeah, it's a tax. And yeah, people hate
• 39:43
  Speaker 1: that word, tax. But Property taxes have never been eliminated
• 39:48
  Speaker 1: in any city in the United States.
• 39:50
  Speaker 2: So that's that.
• 39:51
  Speaker 1: And the wheel tax too, folks, that was never meant
• 39:53
  Speaker 1: to be temporary. Somebody's going to bring that up too.
• 39:56
  Speaker 1: It was passed in, I think, 1908, and it was
• 39:59
  Speaker 1: never meant to be temporary. And you could look that
• 40:03
  Speaker 1: up too. But that's it for us today.
• 40:05
  Speaker 2: Guess what?
• 40:06
  Speaker 5: P.J.
• 40:06
  Speaker 1: Morgan is going to be on the show tomorrow. Former mayor,
• 40:10
  Speaker 1: county board member. We have lots to talk about. But
• 40:13
  Speaker 1: thank you all for spending this hour with us and
• 40:16
  Speaker 1: sending us your concerns and questions. We'd love for you
• 40:19
  Speaker 1: to join me and P.J. Morgan again tomorrow. I'm Jean Stothert,
• 40:23
  Speaker 1: and this is 1110 KFAB.