Omaha council adopts code of conduct for its members, despite public objections

The Omaha City Council meets weekly at the downtown City-County Building. The seven-member council on Tuesday, Aug. 6, passed a code of conduct for its members that raised controversy, particularly North Omaha constituents concerned about potential disparate treatment. (Cate Folsom/Nebraska Examiner)

OMAHA — A “code of conduct” for the city council of Nebraska’s largest city was established Tuesday with a 6-1 vote by the council.

In a related action, the council also voted 6-1 to place on the November election ballot an amendment that would change the City Charter by adding three more reasons City Council members could forfeit their elected seat.

If approved by Omaha voters, council members would forfeit office if they no longer lived in the district they were elected to represent (unless it is the result of redistricting) or if they missed four consecutive council meetings without council permission.

Additionally, six of the seven council members could move to oust a fellow member, after an investigation and public hearing, for certain violations of the newly adopted code of conduct. Those violations include racial or sexual discrimination; severe and pervasive mistreatment of city staff; conviction of a crime of violence; and acquiring a personal financial interest in a contract or transaction under consideration by the city.

The code of conduct and potential ramifications of the related City Charter amendment raised the ire of multiple people who spoke last week at a public hearing, saying that council members ousting an elected official amounted to voter suppression. Others, including State Sen. Terrell McKinney of North Omaha and the American Civil Liberties Union of Nebraska, submitted concerns in writing.

Several said they thought the code of conduct was aimed at Councilwoman Juanita Johnson of North Omaha, who has conflicted at times with Mayor Jean Stothert and some members of her cabinet.

Johnson cast the lone vote Tuesday against both the code of conduct and the measure to put the three-pronged amendment on the November ballot.

She said the language was too vague and allowed for interpretation that could negatively impact a minority voice.

Councilman Brinker Harding, in addressing what he described as the elephant in the room, said the code was not aimed at Johnson or anyone else currently on the council. He said the committee that shaped the related proposals did not view or intend them as voter suppression.

Councilwoman Aimee Melton said she saw the code as primarily to protect city employees. The code lays out a path to reporting and investigating alleged behavior violations of council members and can lead to a range of disciplines.

She said many people are surprised there was no conduct code in place previously.

SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX