Omaha City Council votes to limit health director’s authority

OMAHA, Neb. -- Tuesday afternoon, Omaha's City Council voted to limit the authority of the Douglas County health director. 

Instead of enacting health measures and mandates on her own, she now must have approval from the City Council. 

The five-to-two vote came after several weeks of tense debate and hours in the council chambers at Omaha City Hall. 

The new procedure requires Dr. Lindsay Huse to provide a recommendation to the Mayor and City Council when it comes to enacting a procedure like a health measure or mask mandate during public health emergencies. 

The recommendation will go to the mayor to be reviewed, and then will be sent to the City Council for a final vote. 

Councilman Vinny Palermo, who wrote the amendment, said he believes the change will help end the Attorney General's lawsuit against the city over Dr. Huse's mask mandate that was issued in January.