For all you Dave Munson lovers, look at this;
All told, as of this month, the city of Sioux Falls holds a debt of $274,850,611.
That debt may seem large, but the city hasn’t spent every dollar approved to borrow. If that were to happen, the total debt of the city would escalate to nearly $330 million.
We could have built two Events Centers by now. I think when Dave took office the debt was $90 million. Him and the rubber stamp council raised that debt $240 million, but the KELO article only mentions $140 million of that debt going towards works projects, where did the other $100 million go?. That’s the price of progress (his legacy) folks.
I’m sure we will see some Dave supporters tell us that for a city our size $274M isn’t that big of a number…. and maybe that is true, but when you compare it to when he took office and the fact that our city isn’t really any better off now than they were 7 years ago… it really makes you wonder WTF they did with all that money.
What is the exit strategy for this type of endless spending? If we continue to borrow and borrow and borrow while we continue to spend and spend and spend more than we bring in each year – how do you ever get beyond that? I just don’t see how that ever ends well. Eventually someone needs to come in and cut spending and/or raise taxes just to get us out from under the heap…and then that person looks like the bad guy while King Dave slips out the back door.
Ha, ha, ha. One reason that republicans hate government so much is that they govern so badly.
Except our city government’s leadership is “non-partisan”.
Munson had a few good ideas and a good vision for what he wanted the city to look like, but he wasn’t a leader; he was a follower. This allowed developers and certain city councilors to run roughshod over him.
More like the department heads.
Wow, you get it. I thought it was just me.
Elect Costello and you’ll have more of the same to the tune of a trillion.
You can’t stop legal mafia. What works in California is bankrupt city governments. When bond and banker people start to realize they are suckers, city government will return to scrutiny and public service.
Costner:
“the fact that our city isn’t really any better off now than they were 7 years ago…”
Not sure how you arrive at that considering nearly any Economic indicator (unemployment, housing starts, foreclosures, etc) are all much better than National averages, all while still being in the top 10 for both lowest tax burden and top 20 for entrepreneurship. The City’s credit rating hasn’t been downgraded and for the most part crime rates are also still relatively low. How many other cities would trade places with that these days?
But I agree, Munson hasn’t been that great of an adminstrator nor a communicator. I highly doubt the man has a crooked bone in his body & Dude’s correct that he’s a visionary. Biggest problem with those types is you usually have to wait a period of time after their gone to truly make the call.
Dave could be a good man if you could interpret his mumbling. He lacks leadership. Conveniently accepting Home-Rule socialism was a huge mistake. He realized dictatorial power but ended up completely to blame. Not standing up against the city attorney’s office was pivotal. Perhaps, start a recall so that he’ll not cause more damage before he is replaced.
How big was our debt when
Fiscally Responsible Republican
Dave came into office in 2002?
Sy: Not sure how you arrive at that considering nearly any Economic indicator (unemployment, housing starts, foreclosures, etc) are all much better than National averages
As they were seven years ago…exactly my point.
Sioux Falls has been doing pretty well in comparison to our peers for the last 15 or 20 years there is no denying that, but the fact is the standard of living in our area hasn’t really changed all that much (for better or for worse). Crime rates haven’t changed significantly either (a slight increase but that could be due to population growth), and aside from a few city improvements such as Phillips to the Falls (which to date is nothing more than a nice street with no development surrounding it), we haven’t really seen anything different.
I’m not saying that is a bad thing – but the fact is our debt load has skyrocketed under Munson, and if you were to carry that rate of growth forward it is simply unsustainable. Our city debt simply cannot quadruple every six or seven years without it having a lasting effect.
Anyone can look like a hero if they spend money to fund showy “pet” projects, but a true leader doesn’t require his successors to clean up after him or her. Dave is not a leader, and being a visionary is only acceptable if you have a city council willing to control the purse strings… which we do not have.