Yesterday’s Sioux Falls City Council informational meeting was one for the books. By the time I got to give my public input, the first thing I could say was watching the meeting was ‘painful’.
As we know, the council in it’s current state is extremely dysfunctional, they displayed this dysfunction yesterday when they discussed their travel budget for well over 45 minutes. Besides the fact the staffer who is in charge of this is disorganized and lacks the initiative to put this together properly I found it an exercise in ignorance that never accomplished anything.
They first complained that they had to ‘VOTE’ on what they wanted, in which they really didn’t have to (they normally don’t vote at informational meetings). I reminded them in the past that the council just had a set dollar amount of $19,000 (I misspoke and said million) for the travel budget and when it came time to book the trip they discussed who would go. Not that complicated. But instead they were making decisions on trips that haven’t even been booked.
Councilor Neitzert felt the public was against these ‘junket trips’ because they were waste of taxpayer dollars, but not a $26 million dollar parking ramp with no tenants that we did not need and built in the wrong spot. But let’s split hairs on $19K.
Councilor Soehl felt these meetings were for staff not councilors. Stehly, Brekke and myself told Soehl that these are meetings for policy makers NOT staff, you know, the people who make policy decisions. His ignorance of the legislative process was shocking, to say the least.
They did however approve a facilatator to help with the council’s goal setting (I feel sorry for that person) and the mayor agreed to help pay for a neighborhood summit this Fall (possibly 2 in 2020) which is a great idea. They want to hold it at the new ministry center at the former school for the deaf because they offered the space for FREE.
But what got very interesting was the discussion over the donation to the State Theatre. They want to essentially give them $1.5 million out of the entertainment tax and have strings attached for 10 years. Councilor Starr pointed out that giving money from the entertainment tax would set up a precedent for other non-profits to ask for that money in the future. I agreed with Starr and said that it really should come out of the CIP as a one time gift.
Councilor Neitzert pointed out he struggled with having the option of the city buying the building if they went belly up over the next ten years, saying that the city owns enough entertainment facilities.
What is even more frustrating is that the council and mayor are doing this all based on a decision Denny Sanford made. I asked the council if this is how policy decisions are made, and if so, it was sad. I also told them that while most of the citizens in this community are excited about it being finished and opened, I have never heard anyone say we should be giving them tax dollars.
What is also troubling is that the State Theatre still has to raise another $2.5 million on their own to complete the project, and then there is the operating and maintenance costs. I’m not sure how they will manage that?
The good news though is that the gifting contract is NOT finished yet, and could be tweaked. I would prefer we don’t give the money, but if we do, it should come from the CIP, be a one-time gift with no strings attached, and if it can’t survive on it’s own it can be sold privately. As Greg said, we have enough entertainment facilities that are publicly funded.