As you know I support this, not just for charitable or moral reasons but it makes economic sense (DOC: gloryhouse);
The money taxpayers will save by keeping ex-cons out of jail while they rehab in a safe place is priceless.
You may have noticed some updates to DaCola. It’s still a work in progress and much more to come. You will notice;
• Huether Administration count down clock,
• Weather Updates
• Latest videos
• Latest local news feeds
I’m also working on connecting with Twitter and Facebook, and more changes to come.
source: siouxfalls.org, 2016-2017 salaries
I have been warning the citizens of Sioux Falls for over a year about these out of control corporate like raises for the managers and directors while the minions beg for crumbs (SFPD). This is what it is like when you run a city like a corporation, the big dogs get all the dog food and the little guy gets a joke of a COLA.
But let’s look past this, shouldn’t raises, whether you are in the public or private sector be based on performance? Let’s look at Mr. Turbak’s performance over the past year. While he has no control over tax revenue being down, he certainly hasn’t been very good at bringing in the expenses. He should have came out against the $25 million dollar city administration building, admitting himself it is more cost effective to lease then to own office buildings. He also should have been able to tell us how much the indoor pool would cost us (operational).
All Tracy has done to get his over 6% increase in pay is be a patsy for the mayor while ignoring his bosses (the citizens). Now that’s business acumen folks.
Took a couple of days, but at least they are being forthright;
Argus Leader Media News Director Cory Myers was arrested Saturday night for suspected drunken driving following a traffic stop on Interstate 229 in Lincoln County.
Most are shocked it wasn’t someone else at the AL, especially after I saw this certain reporter (the someone else) driving down Phillips Avenue last summer with a pint of beer in his hand. When I questioned him about it, he said he was looking for a closer parking spot to Stogeez. Maybe he will learn something from his boss.
I believe the Sioux Falls City Council is set to vote on recording parks board meetings this next Tuesday. If the measure passes (must get 5 votes because it is an ordinance) it will open the door to more transparency when other boards will be asked to be recorded, like REMSA.
Folks, this is a GOOD thing, open and transparent government will always benefit the public and protect us from corruption. Just look at the oral arguments today at the SD Supreme Court, our local paper had to sue the city over something as simple as a settlement contract, it shouldn’t be that way.
The opposing side has their excuses, and I will debunk them;
• It will cost to much to record and to store videos. First off, if it is so expensive to record these meetings, why do we have such an enormous budget following the mayor around to do a press conference every time he gets a haircut or wipes his butt? Secondly, you wouldn’t need a production crew, a city employee in attendance could simply set up the camera, hit record. As for storage, digital storage these days is minimal cost, and even if it wasn’t, the city could do like the county and use YouTube to store the meetings.
• It will discourage people from volunteering on boards. Really? The Planning Commission, one of the most powerful boards in the city has been recording their meetings for 12 years, they are all volunteers and it seems like they never struggle finding people to serve. Secondly, I wouldn’t want anyone serving on a board that wasn’t pro transparency and open government. Just because you volunteer on a government board doesn’t give you a license to keep secrets, quite the opposite.
• The public/media will twist what is said in the meetings or interrupt them. If they are recorded, the public really won’t have a reason to show up in person, and secondly, if the entire meeting is recorded and put online, not sure how that is ‘twisting’ it’s content. The only time the truth is twisted is when decisions are made behind closed doors.
Let’s face it, these boards make important decisions that impact thousands of lives and millions of dollars of taxpayer money, they need to be transparent and readily available to the public. Any councilor who would vote against this are basically saying they are happy with the status quo and are anti-transparent government, any other arguments are weak kneed and ‘twisted’.
l3wis