Omaha’s outgoing Mayor says he plans to take some time off before going back in to the private sector.
Monday was Jim Suttle’s last day in office. His successor, Jean Stothert, will be sworn in Monday night. Suttle was elected Mayor in 2009, and says there are two accomplishments during his four years in office.
“We were headed in to bankruptcy, and so we got the city’s finances working, that’s the revenue side as well as the expense side. I’m very proud of the management structure we put in place to manage revenue and manage expenses together. You have to do them in concert. And secondly, masterminding what to do to save the city from the 104 days of historic flooding from the Missouri River.”
Suttle says he’s also proud of the work done to grow small business, particularly in south Omaha.
“South Omaha and what has been done by the small businesses that are run by Hispanic families has produced 650 million dollars to the Omaha metropolitan area economy. And I think that one factor, which is not given a lot of attention, has helped us so much in positioning to be, quite frankly, the number one city to come out of the recession.”
Suttle says he’s optimistic about the city’s future. He credits small business growth, particularly in south Omaha, for pulling the city through a recession.
As for his future plans, Suttle says he’ll take the summer off, relax, and play golf, then transition back in to the private sector.