There is a lot of people running for mayor this time around. And a lot of them are trying to ‘sell’ us their ideas. We don’t need another ‘salesperson’ for mayor.
Besides the backroom deals, the private investments with developers and the total lack of transparency and honesty from 8 years of Huether, ever notice he was always trying to ‘sell’ us something. If it wasn’t the Events Center it was an indoor pool, if it wasn’t the administration building it was the RR redevelopment, and in his final hoorah he sold us a parking ramp that costs double of what it should, doesn’t provide enough parking and puts us in cahoots with someone that is facing civil and Federal charges.
ENOUGH!
With all the debt he piled up with these purchases he cleverly tried paying down some of it with increased fees and taxes and sneaky ‘enterprise’ accounts. From May of 2010 – August of 2017 the administration initiated and the council passed over 50 fee and tax increases.
Now that we have a housing shortage, contractors will tell you that one of the biggest hurdles to providing more housing (even those that can afford it) is regulations. In the same time period above the mayor and council passed over 70 new code ordinances.
And what about the debt? Also in this same period there was 50 supplemental appropriations passed (extra budgeting) and 15 revenue bonds.
Our next mayor needs to stop selling us stuff because it is costing us dearly. It is actually hurting growth, mostly in sales tax revenue. People don’t buy things when they are immersed in personal debt and high taxes and fees.
Our next mayor needs to hold the brakes on spending, increasing taxes and fees, and passing more regulations (we actually need to work on eliminating some). We need to get back to providing reliable public services at an affordable rate. The monument building needs to put on hold, and we need to focus on the most important thing in our city – IT’s PEOPLE!
Well said. Clearly the businessman mayor was nothing more than a credit card used car salesman. Tomorrow’s election will be like Victory Day after WW2. The ravishing dictator travesty is soon over.
Jamison wants to build us a “fun palace” downtown, I mean a baseball stadium. Wow, the selling continues.
However, it’s really time to get back to the basics like plowing, sweeping the streets, and cutting the grass in our parks.
If construction companies would raise their pay. The workers shortage would be solved. But as long as we don’t solve the worker shortage with greater pay, then construction companies will continue to build more expensive homes; because it takes fewer workers and the margins are greater.
Only with a larger work pool can construction companies afford, or care to build, median priced homes in this town. Where a greater quantity added by more workers, in terms of the amount of building, will give them the margins to justify their investments.
With all due respect, I do not necessary buy the increased ordinance argument, when it comes to the building of affordable housing. Rather, I think it has more to do with corporate greed and the worker shortage in this town, that are the real culprits of this issue.
Often corporations say, “You have to spend money to make money,” and corporations in this town need to spend more on wages, in order, to create a reality where affordable housing in great numbers will produce an overall greater margin for the producers. But I am afraid that in this town, the housing industry is demonstrating to much of a self interest, and thus, failing as a true and responsible corporate citizen.
That’s why Sioux Falls need Mike Gunn for Mayor!!
The bottom pictures resemble walking up to a men’s urinal. If Huether runs for anything later, make sure you vote against him and piss on his name before you leave.
The idea of investing tax dollars in a baseball stadium downtown is ludicrous. They don’t even have the attendance numbers to support the facility they currently reside in.