As the Creightonian takes the week to focus on safety, it might be important to consider the myriad of issues concerning the safety services in the city which Creighton calls home.

Mayor Jean Stothert’s mayoral career is only just reaching 100 days, yet in those 100  days, she’s done enough to fill an entire term. And seemingly, the fire department and Omaha’s fire union are directly in her sights.

According to the Omaha World Herald, Mayor Stothert’s budget increases Fire Department funding by $8.2 million over this year, but it falls short of Fire Chief Mike McDonnell’s spending requests. The City Council approved the $90.6 million budget late in August, against the backdrop of complaints by top fire department officials saying they need about $94 million. According to the fire union, these cuts would amount to a breach of the city’s labor contract with the firefighters.

Those complaints were taken to the legal arena; however, they were dismissed by District Judge James Gleason. He ruled that, at the time, with the budget being only a potential one, he was unable to rule on what only amounted to a hypothetical. But with the approval of Stothert’s budget, the union is likely to sue again.

The fire department should concern itself with working within the budget. The budget sees an $8.2 million increase, yet the fire department is seemingly incensed that the budget is $4 million less than its wishlist. Has the fire department’s requirements changed so much in one year that it is unable to provide similar fire protection despite an extra $8.2 million?

The bad blood between the mayor and the outgoing Fire Chief Mike McDonnell has been anything but kept behind closed doors. It’s been clear since her first day in office that the mayor has wanted to see the end of McDonnell’s public service career. The two came to an agreement on the fire chief’s retirement, which would see McDonnell officially vacate his post on Nov. 8. This was after a previous retirement agreement had collapsed.

With the city of Omaha’s charter set to be reviewed this October, it appears as though the mayor might get her wish of having the power to hire, and fire, the police and fire chiefs. In an interview with NebraskaWatchdog.org, Stothert reiterated her desire to see changes to the way high-ranking public officials are controlled by the mayor’s office.

“I do think that fire chief and police chief, as well as all the other department directors such as public works, such as parks, that they should be evaluated on their performance,” Stothert told  Nebraska Watchdog.

The mayor should have that power – with reasonable constraints. Public service department directors should be held accountable for their actions. If the mayor feels she has a case to fire directors who aren’t getting the job done, she should feel empowered to remonstrate and ultimately, replace them. And instead of fighting with the mayor’s office, the fire department should refocus its efforts to providing the best possible amount of fire protection within the constraints of a well-researched and-reasoned city budget.