City of Omaha Mayor’s Office

Mayor Jim Suttle, David Harvey of IBM Omaha, Mayor's Assistant Grant Administrator Alec Gorynski, and Multiple Community Partners Announce Omaha's Award of the IBM Smarter Cities Grant

March 15, 2012,- Mayor Jim Suttle announced today that the City of Omaha was selected to receive an IBM Smarter Cities Challenge grant. The grant gives city leaders access to IBM’s business experts who will analyze and recommend ways Omaha can improve its economy though sustainable development and become an even better place to live and work.

The IBM Smarter Cities Challenge is a competitive grant program in which IBM is awarding a total of $50 million worth of technology and services to 100 municipalities worldwide through 2013. Omaha was one of 8 U.S. cities and 33 cities worldwide chosen this year to work with IBM experts who will provide analysis and recommendations on how the community can achieve successful growth, better delivery of municipal services, more citizen engagement, and improved efficiency.

IBM selected cities that made the strongest case for participating in the Smarter Cities Challenge. During these engagements, IBM technical experts, researchers and consultants immerse themselves in local issues and offer a range of options and recommended next-steps. Among the issues they examine are healthcare, education, safety, social services, transportation, sustainability, budget management and energy. The City of Omaha will work with a grant-funded IBM team on ways of improving our economy through sustainable community development.

“The cities that have been selected are all different, but they had one clear similarity: the strong personal commitment by the city’s leadership to put in place the changes needed to help the city make smarter decisions,” said Stanley S. Litow, IBM vice president of Corporate Citizenship & Corporate Affairs, and President of IBM’s International Foundation. “These cities demonstrated a desire to set an example for other municipalities, an eagerness to collaborate with multiple stakeholders, and a strong commitment to consider implementing recommendations the city felt would be the most feasible and beneficial to their residents.”

IBM’s consultants and technology specialists will help municipalities prioritize their needs, review strengths and weaknesses, and learn from the successful strategies used by other cities worldwide. After studying the role that intelligent technology might play in uniting and advancing different aspects of city life, IBM then outlines a range of concrete strategies designed to help make cities healthier, safer, smarter, more prosperous, and attractive to current and prospective residents and businesses.

A consistent theme in these projects is the collecting, sharing, analyzing and acting on data generated by urban interactions and transactions. Such information can include everything from school test scores, smartphone adoption, crime statistics, foot and vehicle traffic, to tax revenue and library usage. Correlations are then made that link seemingly unrelated aspects of urban life to develop innovative and cost effective strategies to address persistent challenges.

“We have made progress in stabilizing our economy but this kind of assistance from experts at IBM, will allow us to really tap into more innovative way we can meet the needs of the citizens we serve,” said Mayor Suttle. “It is exciting to be given this opportunity. We look forward to working with the team of experts from IBM and thank them for selecting Omaha.”.

Omaha Mayor Suttle with Council Bluffs Mayor Hanafan, Bellevue Mayor Sanders, Nick Yaksich of Kids Against Hunger, and representatives from the Salvation Army, Together, Inc, and Heartland Hope Mission

February 16, 2012: This morning, Omaha Mayor Jim Suttle joined Mayors Rita Sanders of Bellevue and Tom Hanafan of Council Bluffs as well as Nick Yaksich of Kids Against Hunger, and representatives from Salvation Army, Together, Inc., and Heartland Hope Mission in kicking off Kids Against Hungers’ Million Meal March.
The event, which takes place March 3rd at the CenturyLink Center, will package one million meals for needy families across the globe. At least 300,000 of those meals will be delivered to Omahans in need.

“Last year, when floods and droughts caused national food suppliers to skip deliveries to local pantries, the community came together, and we worked with the public, private and non-profit sectors to bring nutritious meals to those in need,” said Mayor Suttle. “I am confident the people of Omaha will come through once again, and make this event a success.”

“The March 3rd event brings together metropolitan Omaha to fight hunger locally and around the world,” said Nick Yaksich, Co-Founder of Kids Against Hunger. “This is a collaborative effort in which so much of Omaha from city officials to nonprofits to corporations came together to fight hunger. Kids Against Hunger is proud to create an event that feeds so many people. We have tremendous support but still need people coming forward to sponsor and volunteer.”

“Our efforts do not end after March 3rd,” added Mayor Suttle. “We will continue to build partnerships within the community and work together to ensure that all kids in Omaha have can enjoy a healthy meal.”

For more information on the Kids Against Hunger Million Meal March, please visit www.omahakah.com

December 2, 2011 – The City of Omaha unveiled its’ first-ever “Snow-App” for iPhones and Android smart phones at a press conference this morning at the Jesse Lowe Conference Center.

The simple, user-friendly “app” will advise users when a snow-emergency is in effect, notify them of proper parking procedures during a snow emergency, and keep Omaha citizens up to date on road conditions during and after a storm.

“The app is aimed at people who are on the go,” said Heather Tippey Pierce, General Services Manager of the City’s Public Works Department. “It is an additional tool designed to provide citizens with the most up-to-date information regarding road conditions and current parking regulations. We will continue to inform citizens of snow emergencies through the traditional channels, but we want to make this information as accessible as possible.”

The App may be downloaded for free at the Android Market. The iPhone version will be available in a few days.

“I’m always looking for ways to make government more accessible to the people,” said Mayor Jim Suttle. “We had great cooperation from Omaha residents last winter, and I hope that this app will make it easier for citizens to comply with snow emergency policies, allowing for quicker removal times.”