At Huether’s budget address today he proposed his 2016 budget, a $64 million dollar increase over 2015 ($471 MILLION). In fact, when Huether took office in 2010 that budget was $337 million, a $134 million dollar jump in just 6 short years. Huether claims it will be covered by revenue, but my question is why not have a little bump from 2015 and use the extra revenue to pay off debt? (our debt service in 2016 will be $39 million). SEE THE DOCUMENT:Â 2016 Budget
I guess this explains why Huether has been clamoring to raise user fees, he has a huge wish list for 2016. Seems he is over promising to a lot of folks in town (mostly developers and businesses).
The other ironic part is that this increase could almost cover the county’s entire budget for next year ($71 million), yet they have to do an opt-out (increase our property taxes) to make ends meet.
This is what happens when you elect a marketing VP from the worst predatory CC company in the industry – out of control spending and more debt.
UPDATE: Steve Young updates us on some important quotes from today’s shananigans;
“I look back to when we first went to cameras in the cars and having the officers recorded. A lot of them weren’t real excited about that. I think they looked at it as ‘Big Brother is going to try to catch me doing something,’ †Barthel said. “The fact of the matter is, a lot of times we’ll get complaints, people accusing our officers of doing something, and all we have to do is pull up the video and look at it. In 99 percent of the cases, it saves their backs. Now they’ve come to rely on it.â€
Yet Chief Barthel will not release the audio from the Tuthill shooting incident. Why? Will some backs not be saved? As a County Commissioner said to me tonight, “The more officers the city hires means the more arrests that will be made. What does that mean for our budget?” He also added that the county has had the same number of employees for the past four years. The new 27 city employees will add almost $2 million to salaries next year.
In acknowledging the size of his budget proposal, the mayor encouraged city councilors “to feel good about what you’re doing. Feel good because the citizens, they’re doing well. They’re pleased with our progress.â€
In other words, don’t look over here, nothing to see, go back to watching football and eating at Applebees, (and don’t read DaCola) we have this handled. If there was ever a time for more scrutiny of this city government, it is right now and Councilor Erickson nailed it;
“I think over the next few weeks, we’ll definitely be diving into this to see what is needed, what is maybe not needed. … and that we’re growing in a responsible way and not be proud that this is the largest budget in our history,†Erickson said.
I wouldn’t call myself a fiscal prude, I am all for money being spent on infrastructure and roads, parks and social services, but there is a lot of big ticket development projects that smell worse then the Big Sioux River in this budget. Take for instance the idiocy of tearing down and selling a parking ramp for $1 then turning around and building a $10 million dollar ramp.
Based on his first take of the budget, Councilor Dean Karsky acknowledged the large jump but said nothing initially seemed out of line to him.
SF Chamber Board member saw nothing out of line. Imagine that? Oh Dean:(
471 million for a population of 160k is $3,000 each for every man-woman-child. All I see now is new indoor sports & entertainment I’ll never use. Huether is pushing for awarding contracts beyond his term. The council has to stop him. There’s incomplete financial reporting. How about a complete outside audit and get into a new mayor’s term so debt and credit worthiness can be evaluated.
You can point the finger at the job he previously held, but the reality is huether is doing what is perfectly in line with his typical political party affiliation’s economic policy: tax and spend.
He’s getting richer while the city’s going deeper into debt and the majority of people don’t care. Welcome to political apathy.
I do agree, his increase in user fees is a practice that would appear to come from his credit card days that is definitely going to stick it to the little guy and not very democratic party-like at all.
What’s that called again when you behave in a way that convenient for your needs at the time or who’s in the room at that moment? Oh yeah, a professional politician.
Untrustworthy and totally useless.
And the rhetoric never ends . . .
“This budget ensures we take care of what we have, stays ahead of the growth of our boomtown while always balancing our checkbook.â€
http://www.siouxfalls.org/news/2015/July/30/2016-budget.aspx
He’s as much as a Democrat as Kermit Staggers is.
I’m going to buy each of the councilors hatchets for the budget hearings.
I don’t know Kermit as well as you, but I’d be willing to bet you’d agree if Kermit were Mayor, the budget he’d present would not show this size of increase nor would we be looking at this large of debt service.
So fiscally, they are along their party lines. Where huether differs is that his extra taxes & fees collected go to the wealthy instead of helping those in need. So in that regard he is an elitist, I mean republican.
Be careful how you deliver those hatchets. The cops have tasers now and the Tuthill ghost never has been identified.
Yeah, in no way was I comparing the two, I was just saying that the mayor doesn’t act like a SOCIAL democrat. Anybody who doesn’t have a problem with cutting free pool passes and raising paratransit fees all the while spending millions on infrastructure and annexation projects (mind you, most of which we don’t need). It almost makes you kind of wonder how many development projects our mayor is invested in? We already know his wife and him have invested in some apartment projects, but you kind of wonder how far those investment tentacles reach?
Kelo just reported part of Huether’s requested proposed $64 million 2016 budget increase is $10 million for a new park.
Why the heck did they not take $10 million and buy an appropriate spot for the indoor aquatic center instead of ruining a formerly beautiful park? Where are the brains in this self glorifying, out of touch administration?
My son who lives in the cities commented recently after he observed the destruction at Spellerberg that Sioux Falls must “think” they are “playing big city” by destroying a wonderful park for an aquatic center.
He further commented that Twin City residents would never have allowed the destruction of such a large green space for a huge commercial building and large parking lot for an aquatic center. Large open green park areas are highly valued and treasured by the residents of the Twin City area.
Very “Small Town” thinking was applied under the guidance of Mike Crane, Don Kearney, and Mike Huether combined with unlawful and deceptive “educational videos” used by the city to influence uninformed voters.
And now the city is boasting about over 2000 truckloads of dirt being removed from the site. It makes most of the residents who are observing quite nauseous and upset. I hear nothing bet negative comments. That must be why Kearney is out trying to cheerlead the indoor pool which was pushed and funded by the elite country club set for their kids with intended exclusion of the average kid through raised fees.
I still think a natural filtration pool would have been a wonderful addition to Spellerberg like they are building in Minneapolis. It would have been a heckuva alot cheaper to build and operate and a beautiful addition to the park.
It just opened a few days ago.
http://kstp.com/article/stories/s3860783.shtml
$6 million, No chlorine and FREE to the public. Now that is progress!
A debt load of only 10% of one’s annual revenues is EXTREMELY CONSERVATIVE financial practice. Take for example each and every one of YOU critics. Let’s here what YOUR debt/revenue ratio is.
They could have gone back to Sherman park and made an Evans plunge facility like hot springs did eons ago. What a bunch of a clowns are running our city. Come on Greg,Christine, Kermit , and Kenny. Grow some balls and stop the idiots. You didn’t help us with the bs for the south side Walmart lie and lined mmm pockets. Do something to make us proud of you Kick some ass
Watching mike go on about how the city was “going to try something new” was laughable. Saying technology was going to be used to justify positions.
Anyone who has attended the budget presentations or watched them (when the video was working – try fixing that technology) knows for the last 10-15 years some of the city department have been using technology to justify their personnel requests; It’s called GIS.
Public Works, Fire, and Parks come to mind as departments that would use data run through the GIS department to show work load, call volume, or usage to justify employee requests. In some cases the data spanned numerous years to show trends and was presented on nice maps or graphs.
But apparently we’re supposed to believe that Mike and the private sector invented using technology to figure out out to hire employees and he’s the one that brought it to the city. What a load of crap and an insult to all the previous Mayors and City Councils of the last 10 to 15 years.
Lastly, speaking of technology, some communities have embraced police body/car cameras or microphones and they have been used to exhonerate or prosecute officers who follow or break the law.
If our police chief can decide to pick and choose to release or withhold audio or video as he sees fit without public oversight or the ability to be overruled, there is no reason to waste the money on the technology whatsoever.
Lewis, I have been to the Webber Pool site during construction. It is an amazing complex in a great location. We could have easily placed this pool in Spellerberg for $1.4 million less than the price of last year’s ballot measure for the outdoor pool. It can also be viewed at as a pool for all to use, for free for several years based on the deficits we now know Kearney and the Mayor had planned all along for the indoor pool.
The Webber Pool is in an older transition type neighborhood similar to much of central Sioux Falls. It is a pool first in the summer with water feature like ponds to enjoy 12 months of the year. It would have been perfect for Spellerberg and the VA setting.
It is too bad the special people had to ruin a park the city does not really own, for the monster building they have planned to keep the lesser people out of. Higher fees to keep the lesser people out versus a real city like Minneapolis creating something special for everyone to use for free.
To have higher fees for an indoor pool while the outdoor summer pools are open is unfair to the Spellerberg neighborhood. It should never matter what Sioux Falls pool the person is going to, the fee in the summer must be the same. It is an equal rights issue. For a person to drive to Drake Springs it costs money when they could have walked to Spellerberg for nothing.
For what its worth, we are recording the Park Board videos for a reason. Also we will be recording additional boards to expose the closed nature of the city processes.
Our attendance is allowing us to understand the process and let you the viewers follow the “public” discussions leading to the things being done. These videos are better than any written transcription because we see and hear what the players are doing. We have learned, if you want to know what is going on or have a special in to get it done, get the special calendars for your special interest.
As the sainted Ronnie used to say “Trust but verify”. The Mayor’s budget address shows we have a lot of work to do.
huether and his wizard finance director picked a new financial software package that was supposed to bring the city up to date and I’m told by city employees it has slowed things way down and all of the bugs still aren’t worked out of it.
I am also told it resulted in several employees being added to the finance department staff. Maybe that’s the the kind of technology huether is talking about.
Buggy and requires more people to run? I.T. must have been involved also. Another fine job he can tell the fine folks of Sioux Falls he did!
Capital One is leaving with 750 jobs. There’s no signs for expansion of other business. Sales tax is down. Where’s this increase coming from? Sounds like a new C grade bonds issue. I can move when the city defaults. City employees will lose their retirement. I suggest their union request an audit.
15% year over year.