The Beatrice Fiddler

The independent press charges ahead

Bellevue again.

A big municipal problem over in Bellevue is whether to call the very small somewhat charming part of Bellevue Old Towne or downtown.

Not to mention some other little problems.

An independent firm hired by the city to look into Bellevue's financial picture discovered $3.4 million no longer in the Waste Water Fund. Finance Director John Collins said he learned that the funds from the restricted account were "pooled" into the General Fund and spent on city-related expenditures. Nonetheless, the funds must be repaid to the Waste Water Fund.

The Bellevue Leader sat down with "Mayor Ed Babbitt, City Administrator Gary Troutman, Finance Director John Collins, City Council President Gus Erickson and Phil Davidson, in charge of public relations and special projects for the city" and they asked the question you might also have asked:

Q BL: How will the city pay back the $3.4 million?

It's that no-holds-barred investigative style again at the Bellevue Leader.

The impact of the Supreme Court decision on Nebraska

Our local media has done a reasonably good job focusing on the local implications of yesterday's U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act. KETV weighs in Bellevue Doctor Suffers Setback With Court Opinion:

It was another lawsuit by Carhart challenging the federal ban that led to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that upholds the ban. In 2000, the high court ruled for Carhart in striking down a similar Nebraska law because it lacked an exception to preserve a woman's health and encompassed a more common abortion method.

Omaha World-Herald: Ruling Encourages Abortion Foes, Alarms Advocates of Choice.

Dr. LeRoy Carhart, the Bellevue abortion provider who challenged the federal abortion ban, said the ruling will open the door for opponents. "It will have a harsh effect," said Carhart, adding that the ban would affect about 20 percent of the abortions performed at his clinic.

Not as harsh as a partial-birth abortion is harsh, though.

Regular readers will start to wonder whether I started this blog to beat up on Bellevue.

In Bellevue, it's deja vu all over again

The Sarpy County attorney has determined that the Bellevue City Council met illegally in January.

I've written about this previously.

In November 2006, the voters of Bellevue resoundingly voted in favor of an initiative to reduce the size of their city council from 10 members to 6 members.

In January, the city council met in a closed-door session and voted to pay the Bellevue city attorney to write a letter to the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission asking if it is allowable to use city funds to pay for a legal challenge against that initiative.

According to an article in the Omaha World Herald, now that the Sarpy County Attorney has ruled that the meeting was illegal, Bellevue mayor Ed Babbitt is going to ask the city attorney to:

...credit the city for the $2,739 he was paid to draft a document requested during that meeting.

I wonder who will end up paying the attorney for the work he did? Maybe the mayor figures that since the attorney didn't advise the city council that their closed-door meeting was illegal and that there was no way the NADC was going to grant their request, he shouldn't get paid for his legal work.

The city council members who met in the January closed-door meeting are Sharon Brown, Jack Charvat, Gus Erickson, Theresa Hatcher and John Ott. This group did not include Bellevue Mayor Ed Babbitt.

I agree with the decision of Sarpy Couny attorney, Lee Polikov. The OWH points out that Lee Polikov is the husband of Terry Calek, and that Terry Calek led the petition drive to get the signatures to put the downsizing measure on the November ballot.

It's not Terry Calek's fault that the person in charge of deciding whether the January meeting was illegal happens to be her husband but, unfortunately, the fact that he is might raise questions about whether he is biased.

In another twist, mayor Babbitt attempted in the February City Council meeting to replace Bellevue city attorney Herdzina--the attorney who drafted the letter to the NADC and is now expected to reimburse Bellevue the slightly more than $2,700 that he billed them for his letter. (That's an expensive letter.)

Beatrice Fiddler readers already know that that Bellevue is dangerous.

Indeed, it is the only city in Nebraska that has not just one, but two, censured medical professionals.

Bellevue is very dangerous

The city of Bellevue, Nebraska is attracting notice for its dangerousness:

Today, U.S. Strategic Command in Bellevue, Nebraska (a suburb of Omaha) is the most dangerous place on the face of the earth.

That's a quote on a Maine blog from a letter written by "Nebraskans for Peace".

Bellevue is also known as a dangerous place by those who follow spinach poisonings around the country and by those who follow Leroy Carhart.

But that's not all.

Bellevue is also dangerous in an icky way and in a fashion doll way:

Bellevue Barbie This Barbie now comes with a stroller and infant doll. Optional accessories include a GED and bus pass. Gangsta Ken and his '79 Caddy were available, but are now very difficult to find since the addition of the infant.

Bellevue City Council wants to spend taxpayer money to pitch a hissyfit

Today in the Omaha World Herald, we read that some members of the Bellevue City Council held a secret -- or closed, as some would say -- meeting and:

Ten days later, the city attorney sent a letter to the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission, requesting an opinion on whether the city may use public funds to resolve complaints it has with the proposition and to prevent it from taking effect at the end of 2008.

In other words, they want to use the city treasury to pay for a lawsuit to overturn the November 7 vote which would throw some of them out of office.

The woman who organized the successful November 7 referendum to reduce the size of the council, Terry Calek, objects:

"This truly was a vote of the people," Terry Calek said. "I think it reflects the arrogance and the out-of-touch status of some of these council people."

The citizens' group said it hoped that a smaller council would result in greater efficiency, focus and fiscal stability for the city.

She objects to the use of the city treasury, too:

Calek said she finds most disappointing the city's request to use taxpayer money to challenge the proposition.

"I certainly would hope that, given the status of the city issues before them - including finances - that they are not using city funds to pursue this," she said. "That would be a real slap in the face to the taxpayers."

What is the Bellevue City Council going to say the next time someone requests a bigger budget for a city program, or a new program, or tax relief?

Are they going to say, "We don't have enough money for that, although we do have enough money for lawsuits so that all ten of us get to stay in office"?