The Billboard Committee met again today at City Hall in the old commission chambers, THIS time they decided to have open discussion BEFORE adjournment. After Steve Young with the Argus does a story about last meetings’ open discussion being video taped after adjournment and the possible violation of open meetings laws (which city officials denied), they decide this time around discussion will occur during the official meeting (but hey, they didn’t do anything wrong last time) just correcting something that wasn’t broken.
Funny.
It would be interesting to appear on July 2nd with questions about the mayor’s political billboards disguised as welcome to Sioux Falls.
I joined this meeting today to track the progress. Although I arrived late due previous commitment there was still great public input and open discussion amongst the panel, public and to some extent city staff. How can they continue to arrive at these meetings so ill prepared? Isn’t their job to be ready with item information? We ask our fellow citizens to help make rules and laws. What they and we get in return from our Chief Marketing Department is vague references to something. We’re not quite sure what but usually doesn’t include relevant answers to the questions posed.
The 143 Frames of Questions at the Sioux Falls City Council Meeting (6/16/2015) video was completed to let you, the viewer see the issues in the way our City of Sioux Falls records then saves the official records of the Council.
We have found problems with the taking and recording of many meeting minutes. These problems are not only with the Council but all the meetings of boards and commissions. Take the time to read the official court documents of the Dan Daily vs City of Sioux Falls case available on this blog, it will become evident many city employees do not care if they are recording or saving the truth.
As we record the meetings, we find interesting changes or simple problems not matching what we saw, heard or later read. We are asking the City of Sioux Falls to require video recordings of all meetings for public viewing.
Consider the soon to be $30 million dollars being spent on the indoor pool on land the city does not have full ownership of. How many people have been able to find pool planning meetings so they could be part of the process? Very few. Recently I found a Park Board meeting after struggling into get to an “unofficial” subcommittee meeting. The real action is in the “unofficial” subcommittee because decisions are made and voted on without public oversight, PUBLIC NOT ALLOWED.
In 2014 I recorded most of the city controlled pre-election Advocational Education programs setup to sell ballot issue lies and half-truths. As I was doing the recordings many asked me why I wasted the time. Well, as shown in recent weeks with the pool fee issue, the city stretched the truth and limited the discussion to what they wanted presented. This was done to destroy the public’s right to a fair and open discussion of issues.
Keep in mind how the videos demonstrate the 2014 citizen driven issues were rewritten and sold to us using only the administration’s point of view. No other point of view on these issues we allowed to be considered.
So we present these videos asking questions. The questions are there not because funny doctoring of the videos is found but because we can’t prove there isn’t. We actually would like to believe our most transparent administration ever with its strong mayor form of government. It is just getting harder to accept the many of the press releases and meeting minutes released from of 9th and Main.
Enjoy our videos. Keep in mind we will be asking more questions as we find more inconsistencies in the stories told, viewed and recorded for today and the future generations.
One thing from my supreme court trial transcript:
The city denied there was one of several hearings. They refused to present a tape because (their words) it didn’t happen. I presented a tape. At one point on the tape, the city attorney stopped the hearing so he could replace his tape and continue.
Keep up the good work Bruce. The city is obligated constitutionally to keep an accurate record. It’s rule of law. If/when the court will hear and not dismiss a city case, they not having records is how we (the people) win.