So what’s the secret? Why is Sioux Falls doing so well when many other cities are struggling? Well the mayor says it’s because they “run it like a business.” That’s a line we’ve heard a thousand times and, after decades in the public sector, I’m among the first to quickly respond that governments are nothing like a business. But I hear a little different meaning in the phrase from Huether. He means that city officials manage the taxpayers’ money as if the city were a business that would go belly-up if it weren’t careful. “Businesses shut down when they have a bad business plan, and the exact same principle applies in government,” he says.
In other words, ‘Loose Lips sink ships.’ and as long as city hall stays non-transparent, this ship will stay afloat.