A loophole in Nebraska state law could result in the city of Omaha losing millions of dollars. 

 

This past fall, the Omaha City Council approved a license agreement to bring Google Fiber to the city. However, current state law prevents the City of Omaha from charging Google Fiber a franchise fee. Existing service providers pay a 5% franchise fee.

 

The city is giving Google Fiber an unfair advantage in approving this agreement before fixing state law. Additionally, Google intends to pay the city a 2% gross revenue fee, which is still less than what other service providers pay. 

 

The City of Omaha should not allow unfair advantages to certain private companies in favor of others.