[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePkOJA9ckTU[/youtube]
Still not sure what Mayor Huether thought he would accomplish by putting together this committee. The probable outcome doesn’t surprise me;
A fund used to attract conventions and visitors to Sioux Falls won’t be diverted to brick-and-mortar projects anytime soon.
Steve Westra, chief operating officer for hotel owner Hegg Companies and a vocal critic who has questioned the need for the review, said the review committee was an unsuccessful “money grab†by the mayor. He said he appreciates that the committee isn’t recommending capital spending as a legitimate use for the fund.
“(The mayor) has taken several runs with trying to use dollars outside of what it’s intended for,†Westra said. “We get the sense that the mayor sees it as a road block.â€
Well, you know how I feel as a citizen constantly chasing down the spending habits of this mayor, they are out of control. This is evident in his attempt to raise rates on Paratransit (instead of just streamlining it) and to eliminate free swim passes for poor kids.
Turbak blamed those perceptions among the hotel and travel industries as a reason for the group’s failure to come up with bolder recommendations.
“I think the influence of the strenuous defense of the status quo is certainly reflected in the recommendations,†Turbak said.
As I have said before, when the status quo is working (Using the BID tax to promote visitors) you don’t need to fiddle with it. Westra is exactly right, this was just a ‘money grab’ scheme by the mayor and his cronies.