Well the CRC didn’t waste anytime to propose ridiculous things now that they don’t have to discuss the charter in front of a studio audience;
How easy it is to get an initiated measure or referendum on the ballot.
City Attorney David Pfeifle said that Thursday during a Charter Revision Commission working session discussion on how frequently people are getting signatures on petitions to take measures to public vote.
Board member Dick Gregerson is concerned about how often Sioux Falls citizens are doing it.
“In Florida it takes 28 minutes on the ballot to go through things, and we’re getting to that point,†he said. “There’s too many issues on the ballot.â€
“South Dakota is one of the most liberal states in the whole nation,†when it comes to that, Pfeifle said.
I have often said if the city council or the state legislature would do the work we elected to do (providing public services in a prudent manner) we wouldn’t need these petition drives. Trust me, they aren’t no picnic, sit down with Ms. Stehly sometime and she will fill you in on the hundreds of hours it takes just to get something on the ballot. Rick Knobe also continues to blab about the petitions and mislead the public;
Let’s take a time out. Do we really want a costly public vote ordering the city to buy snowgates for every blade?
Costly to who? I know it is costing the petitioners time and money, but there will be barely any additional cost to voters. If both petition drives are successful, they will be on the Spring ballot with the school board election. No extra elections, No extra ballots.
Both of these petition drives, if sucessful at the polls, will drive up the cost of city services(i.e. raise taxes) with no cares about how much.
No they won’t. There will be an initial cost from the capital fund to buy snowgates, but the operation of the gates will come out of the operational penny. THAT TAX CANNOT BE RISEN! It will come down to budgeting, not higher taxes. As for the outdoor pool at Spellerberg, we actually will be saving money by building an outdoor pool there. Millions of dollars, I might add.
What are we thinking? Or are we not thinking, but feeling powerless, and we want to have some control so let’s take it out on our own city government?
You are right, we are powerless to the city government. Raising the second penny tax just a few years ago comes to mind. While citizens like myself warned of an economic downturn and that the developers will never put in their fair share (both of which happened as I predicted) the citizens who pay the tax were ignored and the cry baby developers got their way. So YES Rick, we want to control some of the things that go on in the city.
. . . both of these initiative efforts are at least premature and at worst, selfish and self serving.
Selfish? Self-serving? You mean getting a public service for the taxes we pay is SELFISH. Shut your pie hole and go back to talking about buffalos or whatever.
Uh, city government is not democracy. The charter revision group is meant to find a way around having to conform with state civil procedures. They don’t have time for petition drives and elections.
I’m in Roswell NM. People here accept outsiders. There were the extraterrestrials in the 50’s and there’s the illegal mexicans. Now, a guy in a space suit drops in at 834 MPH from 24 miles in space. They can’t vote until they become naturalized. We can vote but one someone takes them home and counts nays as yeas. Don’t tell these people about Home Rule Charter. Next thing you know they’ll have an events center for jackrabbits but never snowgates.
I’m somewhat concerned that we have city leaders, and former city leaders, suggesting the citizens have too much power.
Really? The citizens have too much power? Really?? On what planet should this be considered a problem.
Shouldn’t we all be happy that our citizens can allow their voices to be heard? We are talking about two ballot issues here – we aren’t talking about having a ballot with 43 different items on it. Plus (and maybe a few members of city government have forgot this minor point) if the elected officials actually listened to the voices of their constituents, these ballot initiatives wouldn’t even be needed.
Just look at the past ballot initiatives and how the final vote counts were so far out of alignment with what the city council supported. Perhaps instead of complaining that the citizens have too much power, our city leaders need to acknowledge the real problem is they aren’t serving the citizens and instead are just doing what they feel is right.
These people remind me of the type who complain about seagull shit during a hurricane. Talk about missing the point.
Good points Craig. True and sad. Makes you wonder if 5 councilors are bought just like the mayor. When there’s soon a national Municpal Bonds financial collapse, it will be hard to find these five. The mayor will be perp walked (hopefully) before the next election. It will be a time for democracy and a citizen served city government.
I think it is ludicrous how they think getting these petitions signed and on the ballot is ‘too easy’. Really? Heck, CRC member De Knudson couldn’t even stand in front of the courthouse herself to get signatures for her council run, she had to recruit the Dems to do it for her. Getting 5,500 signatures is no cake walk, and if they think it is they should go attempt it sometime.
Knobe’s elderly audience should be all over him on this.
His comment about being ‘selfish’ is such complete bullshit. The EC is a prime example of ‘selfishness’.