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Mayor’s pay hikes already pocketed

By   /   August 2, 2012  /   18 Comments

OMAHA—The controversy over some hefty city hall pay hikes has taken a major turn.

Steve Oltmans

The raises, as high as $25,000, planned for several top aides to Mayor Jim Suttle aren’t just planned after all—some have  been in the pockets of Suttle’s aides for months.

And until Wednesday, as some members of the City Council dug into the mayor’s 2013 budget, no one knew.

Pam Spaccarotella

City Council member Jean Stothert, who is running for Mayor, tells Nebraska Watchdog that pay increases for Chief of Staff Steve Oltmans and Finance Director Pam Spaccarotella secretly took place earlier this year.

 ”We dissected the budget and then asked for (Oltman’s and Spaccarotella’s) pay stubs,” said Stothert. ”They are already receiving more than we approved in the (2012) budget.”

The mayor’s office had defended the upcoming raises.

According to a spokesperson for Suttle, Oltmans had played a key role in fighting last year’s historic flood. 

Spaccarotella was given high marks for keeping the city’s AAA bond rating.

Stay with Nebraska Watchdog for more on this developing story.

Reported by Joe Jordan, joe@nebraskawatchdog.org

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Joe Jordan

  • SoWhat???

    More of the same from good old Mayor Moron and his cohorts. Lying to the city council, the public and wasting even more taxpayer dollars. Thank you Dave Nabity for screwing up the recall which would have removed this incompetent and dishonest boob from office.

  • Kevin

    The citizens of Omaha need to wake up. Vote this shyster out.

  • What!?

    What else is he doing that we don’t know about?

  • resistwemuch

    What do the citizens of Omaha expect. Just keep electing democrats. To a degree the finance director probably deserves the additional salary as she is also managing the fire department. How does the current fire chief keeps his job. He is harder to locate than Elmo. Where is the WH in following up on this man? They won’t touch him or any other democrat as long as Buffett dictates what is printed and not printed. Considering Oltmans background at the NRD it is amazing he was ever hired. Just another democrat crony to be taken care of by the government. Remember the former County Engineer?

  • Jazzee

    Suttle has lied to the public about a lot of things from where I sit. NO one deserves a $25000 raise especially since Suttle promised us he was such a brillant leader we now owe the fire union millions for lackof leadership from suttle and he continues to get away with these creepy little behind the door deals. Let’s see if the council has any guts whatsoever to go after this lying cheat

  • Patrick

    It would be nice if anyone from the repulican’t horde had any capability to run the city. We really need someone from the private sector that wouldn’t mind the criticism of potholes and trash pickup every now that could really make a difference. I’d be tempted to vote for that person, even if they were a stupid ass republicunt.

  • D. Mark

    Can’t hardly wait for the elections. We had a chance to get rid of him once and failed, he must go the next time!!

  • Anne

    Oltmans was fired from the NRD for being a liar, and adulterer, and a thief of taxpayer money, and this is suttle’s right hand man who just got a $25,000 under the table raise. Do the math.

  • Jazzee

    It has been almost a year and the council is just figuring this out?? If the 7 stooges had any guts they better do what they legally can to force suttle into a corner. He LIED (again) plain and simple like he has about so many other issues

  • Kevin

    Not only that, Suttles first choice of his Chief of Staff was a real winner too. Do some Google’ing on Matt Samp and see if your view on Suttle can get any lower.

  • is

    are you not all sorry you didn,t vote in the recall?? his administration is an embarrassment to Omaha

  • Mike

    If the Mayor believed in what he did, He should have been upfront with the City Council. Spaccarotella will be leaving this year because she is starting a trucking company texas. I wonder if that needs to be disclosed?

  • Truth Teller

    Cheating on your wife does pay, it seems…

  • Retro

    More pathetic non-reporting from JJ! So what was their pay before the $25K raise Joe??

  • Kuhl

    So now the Omaha City Council must pay someone ot manage the management or they will completely lose control of the budget. If pay rates and raises were spelled out in the budget, how could Suttle legaly increase lay to those positions?
    The City Council needs to stop trusting the Mayir and start questioning every expenditure.

  • Anne

    It sure did for Oltmans, and still is. Wouldn’t be so bad if he kept it to himself, but he used taxpayer money to finance his affair — an attitude that carried over into his mis-management of the NRD. The NRD board was smart enough to fire him.

  • Jazzee

    It wasn’t Nabity’s fault the recall failed it was the liberls in west Omaha who just didn’t think poor little old suttle should be thrown out. Wonder what they think now? And for suttle’s PR person to say ‘oops bad political move’ is another insult to Omaha taxpayers. Government just wants our money and then treats us like morons..surprise we don’t LIE and steal and yes stealing is what this all is from the taxpayers

  • Hunyock

    The pay raises all fall into the Budget. What the Mayor decides to do with his staff is up to him and not the City Council. Three years ago when the Mayor first started, the economy in Omaha was tanking and the Mayor ASKED his staff to agree to a wage freeze. Now the Omaha economy is booming so what is the issue. Instead some think that the City Council should have control of the Mayor’s office. Heck, Stothert and crew can’t even get a Fire Union contract and it has been a year since they said they could do a better job at that. Well it has cost Omaha $7.5 million so far in wage hikes because of the City Councils actions and they sit a point fingers elsewhere.