There is no doubt that Huether and some of the councilors have been salivating for several years to kill public input by pushing it to the back of the meetings. This all became more clear when last week a frequent commenter called the mayor a stupid SOB.
There have been rumors circulating they are going to try to make this move using the excuse of ‘safety and security’ you know like the stupid fence they built between the audience and the dais, ironically a fence that was built for a man that is now dead.
Ironically, while sometimes the discussion gets heated and embarrassing for the council and mayor, it has never been threatening, and if it ever does, that is why the mayor has a gavel and Carnegie is staffed with security personnel.
The super secret operations committee of the Sioux Falls city council, that makes these decisions in secret probably have been in discussions on how to bring this forward. Like the stupid run-off election for city council candidates, I’m sure Rolfing and Erpenbach have been scheming to put this in place before they leave office.
We will stay vigilant at DaCola and fight any changes to public input tooth and nail. This is one boondoggle they will NOT succeed at. I will make sure of it.
Just a curiosity question since you bring up blogs. Can anyone tell me the relationship a company like cluckrain plays in the blogosphere? I am not even certain what clickrain is, or what it does. I just understand there is a quid pro quo with sdwc. Can someone explain the sdwc clickrain connection?
They’ll succeed. Then, demonstrations in the audience and pickets outside. Arrests will be free speech defense. The only voice from citizens becomes raucous protest such that the meeting cannot occur and the media has a good story with interviews from citizen patriots.
WP – Patience Grasshopper. That story is coming . . .
Many of the principals at ClickRain appear to have a Lawerance & Schiller past. And it was not that long ago that LS produced a GOP state chair as well. The name should probably be changed to CliqueRepublican…..
Sorry Scott. My comment was intended to be made in your previous post. Your three times at the podium last night are exactly why huether and company want to throttle down public input. Speaking truth to power really bugs the hell out of these types. Huethers last comment about your last trip to the podium speaks volumes. You are absolutely right. WHY should it take a full month after the state publishes the stats for the city to publish the results. Can it really take that long to cook the books?
WP makes a point. However, Huether will not give away his damage. The finance director is but following orders. After the election, everything becomes fact and Huether’s spending will become known as public funds extravagance and extortion.
Thanks Scott. It’s like facing a firing squad and denying a blindfold. We recognize Huether for what he is but he’s still a Nazi until he’s gone once and for all.
It is absurd to say no changes can be made to public input. Where in the constitution or city charter does it lay out the requirement of public input this way? There are a variety of ways that the city can do public input that will keep citizens engaged. The obsession should not be with the current structure of public input but rather with citizens maintaining a voice. The “how” of that can be a variety of things.
Dustin, good points. The city follows Robert’s Rules of order, they can do whatever they want to under these rules. But, as you kind of point out, the US Constitution guarantees 1st amendment rights. In other words, they can set rules in the charter, but that doesn’t stop anyone in this country to express their grievances whenever they want to. Game on.
How would you feel about moving public input time to 6:30 PM – before the meeting begins and the TV cameras are turned on?
605, how would you feel about the 5:30 pm national news and 6 pm local news moved to 5:30 am and 6am?
The only change I would accept is a change from 5 minutes to 3 minutes. Even though I hate the time limit, I do think some people ramble, and cutting it to 3 minutes would help that (but I would only like to see the change to beginning public input part, not when addressing agenda items, which I think the public should be allowed at least 7 minutes). As for a change in public input to the end of the meeting or not being public before the meeting, I am against. Mainly because public input is NOT broken. The problem right now with public input is solvable. The mayor has the power to stop or gavel anyone. Munson did it a lot. Secondly, the smart ass remarks and condescending tone from the mayor towards constituents is not helping the matter. As far as I am concerned the problem with public input is the person running the meeting. He will be gone soon, and hopefully we can get back to civility.
Seem as to me you get what you give. Maybe a moratorium on being an asshole at the podium would be the best solution.
LJL, you call tomatoe I call it tomato. Some say it is being an asshole, I call it telling the truth. If they can’t handle it, they can resign.