Weren’t we told the platting fee would take care of building roads in new areas? Now it will also take care of drainage? Moot point, since we haven’t gotten the expected $ anyway.
Our esteemed mayor had an interesting meeting taking on the Good neighbor – Bad neighbor meme with community groups on this past Saturday. We watched him once again take over the room with his bluster. It never ends. The reason I bring up his meeting is to reference pages 37 to 40 of the report L3wis has posted here.
The header starting on page 38 says in bold capital type: “BE GOOD NEIGHBORS”.
The mayor arranged for a criminal arrest because he considered me a BAD NEIGHBOR. The reason? I had been asking the city for help with my next door neighbors and their intentional use of downspout water to destroy my home for several years.
How many of you would put up with a version of page 40 from your neighbors on all sides of your property?
Through the auspices and permission of the mayor’s office, city employees abused state law, codified enforcement law (dubious as they may be) and the city home rule charter to do the dirty work of their version of GOOD NEIGHBORS.
It appears the mayor and this city government believe GOOD NEIGHBORS are the:
1. retired with nothing to do but bitch and complain
2. substance abusers (liquor and drugs) with nothing else in their lives but complaints
3. general busy-bodies like the old Bewitched GOOD NEIGHBOR, Gladys Kravitz, who try to liven up their lives by interfering in someone else’s life.
It will be interesting to watch and listen to these clowns as they justify the city’s selective enforcement procedures.
GOOD NEIGHBORS vs BAD NEIGHBORS, what an expensive clown show produced by city hall.
One of the lessons I walked away with from the Saturday meeting was Jim Diers message about city officials and public participation. Are we to be considered just TAXPAYERS or are we CITIZENS?
If we are just taxpayers, we are the bill-payers only allowed to write our checks with no voice. So shut-up and get back to the grindstone, the specials need another tennis center to name after their fearful leader.
If we are CITIZENS, then we are part of the process. We are the owners of the Sioux Falls city government, each of us are 1/165,000th of the process.
So pages 37 to 40 are a joke if the city will not enforce it equally.
GOOD NEIGHBORS vs BAD NEIGHBORS? The only winners are the code enforcement employees who gain superficial power to hurt those who fight for their rights.
Bruce – of course, whether you are “just a taxpayer” or a citizen depends on how you see yourselves, not the label any government official puts on you. One of the favorite phrases of the folks you are complaining about when THEY complain is that they are “taxpayers”, and that that status justifies their behavior – in my experience.
I’ve been emphasizing the “citizen” POV for more than a decade now. Glad to see you coming around to the “rights can not be purchased” perspective.
In my case, there were no relative ordinances. On a block of 30 homes, 13 had the same improvement as me. It was not a case of selective enforcement. It was a case of city harrassment. I was denied appeal into court, presenting evidence, calling witnesses, everything constitutionally guarranteed. Bruce had the same circumstance but it lasted 20 years and the city forgave neighbors infractions if they’d bring an erroneous complaint against him.
State Supreme Court has the authority to reimpose a democratic form of government. It will happen but not soon enough. Also, there has been talk of a class action civil rights lawsuit.
Weren’t we told the platting fee would take care of building roads in new areas? Now it will also take care of drainage? Moot point, since we haven’t gotten the expected $ anyway.
Our esteemed mayor had an interesting meeting taking on the Good neighbor – Bad neighbor meme with community groups on this past Saturday. We watched him once again take over the room with his bluster. It never ends. The reason I bring up his meeting is to reference pages 37 to 40 of the report L3wis has posted here.
The header starting on page 38 says in bold capital type: “BE GOOD NEIGHBORS”.
The mayor arranged for a criminal arrest because he considered me a BAD NEIGHBOR. The reason? I had been asking the city for help with my next door neighbors and their intentional use of downspout water to destroy my home for several years.
How many of you would put up with a version of page 40 from your neighbors on all sides of your property?
Through the auspices and permission of the mayor’s office, city employees abused state law, codified enforcement law (dubious as they may be) and the city home rule charter to do the dirty work of their version of GOOD NEIGHBORS.
It appears the mayor and this city government believe GOOD NEIGHBORS are the:
1. retired with nothing to do but bitch and complain
2. substance abusers (liquor and drugs) with nothing else in their lives but complaints
3. general busy-bodies like the old Bewitched GOOD NEIGHBOR, Gladys Kravitz, who try to liven up their lives by interfering in someone else’s life.
It will be interesting to watch and listen to these clowns as they justify the city’s selective enforcement procedures.
GOOD NEIGHBORS vs BAD NEIGHBORS, what an expensive clown show produced by city hall.
One of the lessons I walked away with from the Saturday meeting was Jim Diers message about city officials and public participation. Are we to be considered just TAXPAYERS or are we CITIZENS?
If we are just taxpayers, we are the bill-payers only allowed to write our checks with no voice. So shut-up and get back to the grindstone, the specials need another tennis center to name after their fearful leader.
If we are CITIZENS, then we are part of the process. We are the owners of the Sioux Falls city government, each of us are 1/165,000th of the process.
So pages 37 to 40 are a joke if the city will not enforce it equally.
GOOD NEIGHBORS vs BAD NEIGHBORS? The only winners are the code enforcement employees who gain superficial power to hurt those who fight for their rights.
Bruce – of course, whether you are “just a taxpayer” or a citizen depends on how you see yourselves, not the label any government official puts on you. One of the favorite phrases of the folks you are complaining about when THEY complain is that they are “taxpayers”, and that that status justifies their behavior – in my experience.
I’ve been emphasizing the “citizen” POV for more than a decade now. Glad to see you coming around to the “rights can not be purchased” perspective.
PS – This is a perspective that as a part of the SON/SYN movement – you did not understand.
In my case, there were no relative ordinances. On a block of 30 homes, 13 had the same improvement as me. It was not a case of selective enforcement. It was a case of city harrassment. I was denied appeal into court, presenting evidence, calling witnesses, everything constitutionally guarranteed. Bruce had the same circumstance but it lasted 20 years and the city forgave neighbors infractions if they’d bring an erroneous complaint against him.
State Supreme Court has the authority to reimpose a democratic form of government. It will happen but not soon enough. Also, there has been talk of a class action civil rights lawsuit.