As an outgoing city councilor said to me the other day, ‘there is going to be some busy and full agendas up until the new councilors get sworn in.’
And when you read them, you understand why, a lot of agenda items the new council may not approve of.
Let’s start with Item#1, approval of contracts;
Affordable Housing Solutions, $547,000.
Wow, they must be building at least 6 single family homes with this. Nope. Three, at a cost of $189,000.00 a piece. In modest central neighborhoods on existing lots. Think about that for a moment. While our affordable housing waiting list hits about 4 years with thousands of folks looking for housing, we are blowing over a half million on THREE HOUSES!
Inefficiency at it’s highest. And you should see what they sell them for to prospective buyers (about half that price). The contractors are the winners in the end, smiling all the way to the bank.
During the informational meeting, you will see a presentation about water rate increases, and you will see the city is quick to move forward on raising these rates again before the new councilors get sworn in.
Items#53-63
Affordable housing grants, pensions, housing rights, WATER RATE INCREASES Â with sewer and electrical.
Items#80, Elmwood Golf Course Hotel.
Build homes for no good councilor brother-in-laws and another luxury hotel free for city official visiting relatives. Business as usual. They spend on friends and family. The mafia calls this protection money. The city calls it taxes. We call it arrogant unqualified extravagance.
Water rates going up yet again. Year in, and year out. Took a little trip down memory lane today, thanks to your search engine. Typed in “water rates.” Some really interesting refreshers from days gone by. Water rates have now tripled since 2006. By 2019 rates will be 3.5 times what they were in 2006.
All the reasons Cotter will lay out for an increase have to do with upgrades to water supply and sewage lines. Money that WAS supposed to come from the second penny. Instead we use that money for playgrounds for the elite, and then raise water rates to astronomical rates for Joe Sixpack.
What cotter won’t tell us is this. Thanks to the generosity of Joe, his salary has gone from 135k in 2010 to 181k in 2016. I’m sure that 34% pay increase also holds true for the dozen or so water and reclamation department heads and sub heads.
When does the new council get sworn in?
lets see our new councilers knock them down a10 bucks a month
It seems like they are continuously trying to keep the poor and homeless out of Sioux Falls, while trying to make it look like they are doing just the opposite. Who thinks up this shit? SF Administration doesn’t like the poor or Minorities. Question: Why do you think they don’t address the housing issue when so many are in need? Answer: Fear that the poor or Minorities will make the property value go down.
CRONY ! City, state and federal. Print, borrow and raise the debt ceiling…
Meantime – Sanford, Avera and Billion have demolished hundreds of affordable, single-family homes in central neighborhoods near jobs and public transit. The whole “affordable housing” conversation at the City Council level is a joke.
Getting the new council can’t happen soon enough. It’s not a matter of getting them acclimated. It’s a matter of shuffling out the rest of the old council and the mayor.
I can’t believe raising water rates is in the same meeting as giving away homes better than those we live in and building a luxury hotel on a golf course. Have they no shame? In India, people stand outside homes of those who owe taxes beating drums. Bring your drum to Carnegie Hall.
I would certainly like to hear the City Hall explanation/justification for the 34% increase (cited by Poly43) in Cotter’s salary – and any other City employees w/ similar raises in the last 5-6 years. I don’t think many private sector wage earners have enjoyed similar raises in the same time period w/o switching jobs or employers.
And the Mayor says he’s running the City “like a business”. Bullsh_t!
So habitat for humanity is not responsible enough to build great houses for those in need. We have to dole out profit dollars to contractors to build. Give the funding to habitat and I’m sure at least six homes would have been done. Just another stupid ass way to ruin a good group and reward a group who will make sure another habitat house will never go up in city limits of SF
MMM is running the city like a business. hefty pay raises for executives, while telling the rank and file they are lucky to have a job.
Last year I happened upon a belfrage podcast in which mmm was bragging about bringing Foundation Park to NW SF. For the life of me, I could never figure out…WHY? We still have several development parks that can’t draw squat. A good review is here on that matter.
http://www.southdacola.com/blog/2015/06/foundation-park-why-the-3-year-secret/#comments
So why do I bring this up? Well, there are 49 million reasons why. That’s what it will cost in the next three years to bring water and sewer to that park. Want to know why our rates are going up? One huge example. What a waste.
While we’re at it. Management salaries for the city. Another huge drain. I guess I would not mind so much if ALL city employees enjoyed such financial perks. But they do not. Just one department out of many I could site. The Library Department. Don’t know the Library director. Prolly a nice enough person. But….while she draws $138,000 a year to oversee 92 employees, 32 of those employees are part time, no benefits, can’t work more than 1400 hours a year or 28 hrs a week, and make 10 to 12 bucks an hour. I would call that just a slight disparity. Trust me, if you look at the city employee salaries, it is not just the library department pulling this kind of s#%#. Never wonder WHY Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump are turning heads with their messages.
Obviously it pays well to give up your honesty and integrity. Remember, for the next mayor, your reputation preceeds you.