Tuesday, August 23, 2016 the group, Stop the Funding submitted petitions to the Sioux Falls City Clerk placing an ordinance before the public halting any bond sales to build a government office building at 231 N. Dakota Ave in downtown Sioux Falls, SD. Over 6,500 signatures were collected in less than 3 weeks by dozens of volunteers.
There have been no bond sales yet and none are allowed until after October 1, 2016, per an ordinance passed by the Sioux Falls City Council in May. Once these petitions are certified, state law clearly states none can be sold until after the election.
“We began the next step in the legal process of allowing the voters of Sioux Falls to have a voice in the sale of bonds to finance a city office building of questionable want.” Bruce Danielson, co-chair of Stop the Funding, said. “The three week collection process and then the submission of 6,419 signatures is not easy, but the eagerness of the voters to sign was gratifying.”
Stop the Funding was quickly organized in response to the public’s view of administration overreach in the funding of an overflow city employee office building without full disclosure to the City Council and public.
The Stop the Funding is a citizen group working for full disclosure. Stop the Funding will be auditing all City of Sioux Falls CityLink broadcasts dealing with this building and ballot issue.
“We will be demanding equal time when a Sioux Falls official makes any public statement using the public’s funds” said Danielson. “We learned during the 2014 city election how the public’s resources can be abused to sway the public’s vote. Illegal government sponsored Advocational Education will not be tolerated in this election.”
August 24, 2016
Bruce Danielson