Not sure if that is what he meant while talking about the city budget, but I like the idea.
Jamison is asking whether that’s the case with this budget. He wants to know if the economy improves next year and sales tax revenues turn around, what the city should do with the extra money.
“Some might think do we really need to keep that money, should we give it back?” Jamison said.
Well, Greg, I think we have been overtaxed for a long time. Maybe instead of rebates, we should just cut taxes. But before we commend Huether for finding $30 million in cuts, we need to look at what he is cutting;
• Non-profits that provide vital services to the city
• Libraries
• Police
• Snow removal
And while he brags about ‘cutting’ these services, he increases general fund spending;
Huether’s proposed $117.7 million in general fund spending is a 0.7 percent increase over the $116.9 million in the 2010 budget after the spending revisions were made.
So what are these cuts you speak of? Especially when you are proposing a cool million for an Events Center plan WE DON’T need since we already have a good one with the Downtown proposal. While I agree we can provide some city services on the cheap why would we cut public safety and libraries first? I believe a 5% across the board cut makes the most sense, then go back and delve into individual cuts. The first place I would start is cutting back on all of these ‘assistant’ directors. Each major department should have ONE director, that’s it. If they can’t handle the job without an assistant, fire them.
If you want to cut essential services for the ‘good people of Sioux Falls’ – Fine, then cut our taxes or pay down our debt, or do both.