Ten Haken predictions; 2 for 2, Erica Beck named COS
l3wis Of course we saw this coming a mile away. I wonder if she thinks her boss is scumbag or a saint, oh wait, that’s TJ’s department.
Oh course they had to get out in front of the corporate welfare rumors;
Beck comes to City Hall after working for Lloyd Cos. since 2014, most recently as the firm’s vice president of development. There, she helped foster public-private partnerships between the real estate company and City Hall.
While that work gives her insight into city government and how it works alongside the private sector, she said her allegiances to Lloyd Cos. won’t come with her to City Hall.Deputy Chief of Staff T.J. Nelson said the mayor is working with the city attorney and Human Resources Office to establish a financial disclosure process for top level city staffers to protect the city from conflicts of interest.
Beck said she’s bypassed opportunities to invest in Lloyd and other private projects knowing that she someday wanted to return to public service.
In other words, Lloyd Companies got their ‘Metli’ replacement at City Hall. Took a couple of years, but mission accomplished.
If you really want to squelch the rumors of conflict, you get Lloyd and other developers to follow the rules of FREE enterprise and sink or swim on there own. That means NO more public partnerships, government loans or grants, FREE infrastructure upgrades or TIF’s.
As chief of staff, she said she hopes to better define the process that businesses follow when working with the city to ensure all Sioux Falls stakeholders have an equal shot at getting their permits and requests approved or obtaining public-private projects.
“The thing I want to stress is we want local developers in our community to feel really good about doing work here,” Beck said. “They’re investing a lot of money in our community and we want them to continue to do that.”
That’s fine and dandy, but what about the rest of us? I guess we will be on our own. City government’s job is to represent and serve all, that doesn’t just mean business, but also the citizens who fund this government whose last name isn’t Lloyd, Bender or VanBusrick. Municipal government’s number one priority should be top quality customer service to it’s citizens in infrastructure, public safety and social services, not whether or not gigantic developers are getting hurt feelings and handouts.
I’m afraid the corporate welfare is going to start flowing from City Hall real soon.
