South DaCola

Editorial Cartoonist from South Dakota

January 2016

SF City Council Sioux Falls

Sioux Falls City Council Public Input, January 19, 2016

l3wis 4Comments

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnmyaKXK-KQ[/youtube]

Sometimes we have to be reminded how messy democracy is. Sometimes our leaders get to feel the burn of polite citizen outrage. Tuesday January 19, 2016 Sioux Falls City Council Public Input was just one of those sometimes.

We will be posting the results of the public’s polite pressure in another of our next video. To say the public showed up and expressed their views would be an understatement. The public showed up and helped the panel know how important agendas are for the process.

We also learned a great deal about the proposed rental car “tax” and how it’s introduction is taking away a funding source being held in reserve for a potential airport parking ramp.

Another little bit of inconvenience exposed in this session were the Open Meetings violations the Council was party to the week before. The Council was called into Executive Session to privately discuss marketing and campaign strategy for the rental car “tax”. City Attorney David Pfeifle was in the room for this discussion and did not stop it. What good is a city attorney if the person is part of the questionably legal activity? Hmmmm…..

The speakers were as eloquent and on point as we have ever heard. Speaking truth to power is important and these speakers did. This group did not complain, did not offend, did not insult and Tim Stanga did point out to the panel why people are not eager to be part of their group. It was Tim at his best, bravo. Bravo also to Dan Letellier, John Matthius, Kendal Zoeller, Liz Muilenburg, Greg Neitzert, Duane Riggy, Michael Wyland, and David Zokaites for showing up on a cold January night to bring democracy to the Council.

Cameraman Bruce finished out the Public Input by reminding the room we are messy democracy. We want to be part of the process. We all showed up because we care and don’t care if the Council tires of us coming. It’s the job they all ran for so suck it up and accept our participation.

An amazing meeting and only a tip of the work to be done.

Mayor Hubris Mayor Subprime Mike Huether Mike Huether

Thumbs up to Mayor Huether!

l3wis 3Comments

choose-lose

What are we going to lose? I’m confused.

Towards the end of the council meeting tonight (not where councilor Rolfing talks about doing homework, you have gone to far) the mayor shuts down public input on a 1st reading by a private citizen on the car rental fee increase (ironically a citizen that used to own a private airport in town).

It quickly gets pushed to a 2nd reading. But before that, the mayor points out that the rules don’t allow those from the public to make a pitch for or against an agenda item during the 1st reading. He is right. Yet, Rolfing claims that is allowable because others came forward during public input, in which Mayor Huether once again reminds Rolfing that is within the rules because it is within public input, not agenda input.

You can speak about anything during public input. You cannot, however, speak about specific first readings at the time of the first reading, only at the second.

You would think Hat Hater would know the rules, how embarrassing he had to be reminded of the rules by chief rule breaker himself. I think my head exploded.

That wasn’t the highlight of the day though, Finance Director Turbak was on the SuFu show today shooting out one lie after another, telling Stu and Lalley that they could see what the subcontractors of the EC got paid, but didn’t have record of change orders or how many subcontractors were under Mortenson. So we get to see a partial list? When asked about receiving a public pay check and supporting secrecy in finances, Turbak suddenly became silent, and reminded the Argus they were suing him, so he couldn’t talk. But the best was towards the end of the show when he said he was unfamiliar with South DaCola. Might as well end the show with a final lie . . . pop, pop, pop, pop!

The real fireworks though were at that Council Meeting public input, where the public ripped into the councilors and administration about the lack of transparency. Erpenbach responded by saying they were hurtful and Rolfing read off a piece of paper at the end of the meeting about his son who died in the line of duty.

Godspeed.

As I have told others, Freedom is free, speak out! Guns don’t preserve our society, liberty and free speech does.

Not sure who is turning into former city councilor De Knudson sooner, Erpenbach or Rolfing?

SF City Council Sioux Falls

Shorter Posting times makes government more efficient? Not for the public.

l3wis 3Comments

The Sioux Falls City Council agendas have been posted on Fridays since the dawn of time, and posting those agendas hasn’t slowed government down one bit. It has, however, given the public the opportunity to review the agenda over a longer period of time, and let’s be honest, that’s what the council and administration are worried about;

The Council is also proposing swapping the agenda posting days from Friday to Monday to make it easier for contracts to make the deadline by Monday.

Danielson, however, said he believes it is an effort by the council to put the public in the dark.

“They are doing everything possible to circumvent the group of activists out here that are trying to preserve our rights,” said Danielson.

Karsky said they are meeting the state’s 24-hour agenda requirement and that the public shouldn’t be worried about under the table proposals.

“We’re just trying to make our government run more efficiently. What are we slipping in? It’s posted. We’re doing what the state says we have to do and we’re just trying to make government run more efficiently,” Karsky said.

I asked a Minnehaha County official yesterday why they choose to post their agenda on a Friday before their Tuesday meeting (since they only have to follow the State’s 24 hour rule also). They told me that it would be hard to meet the 24 hour deadline since they would have to have the agenda posted by 9 AM Monday, and would just be easier to get it done on close of business day on Friday. In fact they told me that previous county administrator McFarland just preferred to have it up when he left on Friday so it could be up over the weekend for people’s review and wouldn’t have to scramble to get it completed on Monday. Imagine that, customer service and actual efficiency in government.

Some others have expressed to me that maybe the new city clerk (with no clerking experience, and will be making the same salary on day one as the current clerk makes when she retires, around $87K) may need the extra time to get the agenda together, even though his two assistant clerks have been doing this for years.

This is no more then an opportunity to close the public review time down, councilor Karsky’s smirky face says it all in the above interview.

GARDENS IN THE BOULEVARD

The council will also be taking public input once again on the boulevard gardens, in that mysterious time somewhere between 4:15 and 6:45 PM. Just hang out, you will get your opportunity eventually.

It is predicted that the administration will be bringing their recommendations to the table at the meeting, which may or may not include condemning all homes that are adjacent to 36.5″ Day Lillies in the boulevard, even though the Fire or Police department have NOT been able to give us concrete evidence that tall flowers have caused mass casualties and killed more toddlers then Polio.

Art

The Return of $25 Dollar Paintings

l3wis 2Comments

FOR SALE, each are $25 + shipping (Free Delivery in Sioux Falls)

ALL have custom frames and are under glass.

‘King Catfish (Janoct)’ 5 x 6″
‘Land Sale’ 8 x 6″
‘Love is a bitch in blue’ 7.25 x 8.25″
‘Playing with a Full Deck’ 5.5 x 7.5″

Click to enlarge

LR-KING-CATFISH-2006-2015-5X6

LR-LAND-SALE-2-15-8X6 LR-LOVE-IS-A-BITCH-IN-BLUE-6-15-7.25X8.25  LR-PLAYING-WITH-A-FULL-DECK-4-15-5.5X7.5

 

SF City Council Sioux Falls Sioux Falls Charter Revision Commission

Did the Sioux Falls City Attorney’s office improperly use an Executive session?

l3wis 5Comments

Last week after the conclusion of the Sioux Falls City Council informational meeting, they held an executive session. Per state law those meetings are VERY specific because of the secrecy and privacy involved;

Consult with legal counsel about proposed or pending litigation or contractual matters pursuant to SDCL 1-25-2(3)

But that may not have what happened in the meeting. According to a South DaCola foot soldier, a conversation was overheard that the meeting was a strategic planning session on how the rental car tax was going to be presented by the council. Hardly a contract agreement. This should have been brought before the Charter Revision Commission, in public.

Still no verification if this is what was discussed, but if so, it seems to be a stretch of the law;

     1-25-2.   Executive or closed meetings–Purposes–Authorization–Violation as misdemeanor. Executive or closed meetings may be held for the sole purposes of:
             (1)      Discussing the qualifications, competence, performance, character or fitness of any public officer or employee or prospective public officer or employee. The term “employee” does not include any independent contractor;
             (2)      Discussing the expulsion, suspension, discipline, assignment of or the educational program of a student or the eligibility of a student to participate in interscholastic activities provided by the South Dakota High School Activities Association;
             (3)      Consulting with legal counsel or reviewing communications from legal counsel about proposed or pending litigation or contractual matters;
             (4)      Preparing for contract negotiations or negotiating with employees or employee representatives;

             (5)      Discussing marketing or pricing strategies by a board or commission of a business owned by the state or any of its political subdivisions, when public discussion may be harmful to the competitive position of the business.However, any official action concerning such matters shall be made at an open official meeting. An executive or closed meeting shall be held only upon a majority vote of the members of such body present and voting, and discussion during the closed meeting is restricted to the purpose specified in the closure motion. Nothing in § 1-25-1 or this section may be construed to prevent an executive or closed meeting if the federal or state Constitution or the federal or state statutes require or permit it. A violation of this section is a Class 2 misdemeanor.Source: SL 1965, ch 269; SL 1980, ch 24, § 10; SL 1987, ch 22, § 1; SL 2014, ch 90, § 2.

 

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