Even as the city of Omaha struggles to get out from under a crushing pension shortfall brought about in part by union pay freezes, Mayor Mike Fahey is suggesting the unions take another freeze this year. Fahey's plan is his way of covering off a remaining $5.5 million shortfall in the current budget.

It's only a proposal because Fahey leaves office June 8th. Whatever steps are taken to resolve the city's budget crisis will fall to Mayor-elect Jim Suttle and the Omaha City Council, which will have four brand new members come June 8th.

A spokesman for Suttle indicated that he would make no comment on the Fahey proposals because Fahey is still the Mayor.

"During difficult times, we all must make sacrifices," said Mayor Fahey. "This is just one way the next mayor can balance the year's budget. There are other options open to him."

In addition to the wage freeze for all city employees, Fahey is proposing reductions in the budgets for the Parks Department, city Libraries as well as delaying a new police recruit class by a few months.

Along with the Parks Department reduction, two local swimming pools will close. They are Morton, near 41 and V streets, and Mockingbird Heights, near 90th and L streets.

"As always, our city employees care about what is best for the community they serve, and I anticipate they will be willing to sit down to discuss the possibility with Mayor Suttle," said Fahey.

Back in 2003 Fahey asked the unions to take a freeze in order to resolve a much smaller budget shortfall. The concessions that he gave up in return are at the root of the current spiking problem where some police officers and firefighters are now retiring with lifetime pensions of 70, 80 and 90 thousand dollars a year. In many cases these new retirees are making more in retirement than they made on the job.

The President of the police union, Aaron Hanson, says the negotiations will be made in private, but they are willing to work with the new mayor. "If both sides spend enough time focusing on the problems and getting the right people at the table, I think we could probably find solutions to these problems."

The president of the civil worker union, Kevin Brown, also says they are willing to negotiate with Mayor-Elect Suttle and are glad to see equality between the city workers. He hopes the wage freeze will keep the city from laying off workers.

As for the Omaha Professional Firefighters Union, the president, Steve Leclair, says they too are willing to negotiate.

City councilman Garry Gernandt, would like to see more solutions as well, but he is not sure what those are. "Where do we cut anymore? At our last cut, I thought we reached the bone, now do we go through that bone and start removing other parts? What those might be, I don't know at this time."