food tax

6th street Bunker Bridge Bunker Ramp Downtown Sioux Falls food tax Homeless Mayor TenHaken SF City Council Sioux Falls

Is the TenHaken Administration one of the most fiscally irresponsible & corrupt in Sioux Falls history?

l3wis August 8, 2024 13Comments

We could argue about that until we are blue in the face, but when you have administration that is very bad with money it usually means some kind of corruption is going on, and his circus monkeys called the city council (no matter who they are) go along with it.

In just a few short years they have managed to bilk the taxpayers out of millions to help and benefit friends and family, here is a short trip down the memory lane of corruption (the list originally was only 6 items, but once I started discussing with others the list has grown, and I can’t even discuss stuff behind the scenes);

• Creation of the PRIVATE Parks Association (This group was started so VIPs in Sioux Falls can use their donations as a tax write-off. Don’t care about that, rich people are constantly finding ways to not pay their fair share, oh well. But what is frustrating is not the donations but controlling the narrative and forcing the public to take on their pet projects and help fund them. Parks amenities should be a directive of the public NOT rich donors. We will take your money and inform the IRS, but we should really let the public decide.)

FISCALLY IRRESPONSIBLE AND CORRUPT!

• Buying the Sanford Wellness Center (So we bought a failing facility from Sanford so we can subsidize it?)

FISCALLY IRRESPONSIBLE AND CORRUPT!

• Jacobsen Plaza (Originally a $4 million dollar project, turns into a $16 million dollar project for a facility NO ONE in the community was asking for. I literally haven’t heard one single person tell me they want this, most just say, “Another Parks White Elephant like Great Bear.”)

FISCALLY IRRESPONSIBLE AND CORRUPT!

• Great Bear (We’ve thrown millions at this facility over the past few years, and for what? To be open a couple of weeks in January? It’s time to make this a FREE natural winter park and let people use it when they want to and sell off all the lifts and snowmaking equipment).

FISCALLY IRRESPONSIBLE AND CORRUPT!

• Golf Course Clubhouse (Originally just a simple expansion of the current Elmwood clubhouse and a cart shed replacement has turned into a country club clubhouse project. This is a modest muni course, a pole barn would do with some nice landscaping. But the council approved it anyway.)

FISCALLY IRRESPONSIBLE AND CORRUPT!

• Massive subsidies for indoor recreation (The MIDCO is subsidized $1.2 million a year, the wellness center will probably be double that, and the sad part is you can’t walk into these facilities for free. I said we need to start focusing on FREE recreation.)

FISCALLY IRRESPONSIBLE AND CORRUPT!

• Delbridge Museum coverup (Initially lying to the public then trying to cover it up about the conditions of the animals. I have said we are missing a massive opportunity here, we could build all new dioramas that surround the aquarium and we would have one of the most unique exhibits in the world! But that takes vision.)

FISCALLY IRRESPONSIBLE AND CORRUPT!

• Sixth Street Bridge ($10 million cost overrun to bailout a whiny developer.)

FISCALLY IRRESPONSIBLE AND CORRUPT!

• Bunker Ramp (This is a gigantic mess and I just found out more about this debacle recently – more to come on this!)

FISCALLY IRRESPONSIBLE AND CORRUPT!

• TIFs (handing them out like Booty Prizes, and now to developers out of state.)

FISCALLY IRRESPONSIBLE AND CORRUPT!

• Censoring the Bunker Ramp mural (They said the mural was racist and then the Smithsonian picked the piece. I have said that the mayor and his prosperity gospel folks he runs with are culturally retarded).

FISCALLY IRRESPONSIBLE AND CORRUPT!

• Riverline District (Besides the fact there are massive conflicts of interest with the brokering with this deal and other developments the public should NOT be paying for this, and they especially shouldn’t be buying property with Entertainment Tax money.)

FISCALLY IRRESPONSIBLE AND CORRUPT!

• Lying about income tax and IM 28 (This will never happen, if this passes the legislature will just increase sales taxes on everything else. An income tax? Yeah, and monkeys will be flying out of my butt.)

FISCALLY IRRESPONSIBLE AND CORRUPT!

• Former councilor Marshall Selberg living out of his district for over a year (This is more corrupt then fiscally irresponsible, but you could make the argument having a chair voting on city expenditures while he is illegally living out of his district could be bad for city finances.)

FISCALLY IRRESPONSIBLE AND CORRUPT!

• Dakota Scout and Legal Notices (So the full council new the investors and voted for this anyway hiding the information from the public. This isn’t about the money it’s about Paulson controlling the narrative).

FISCALLY IRRESPONSIBLE AND CORRUPT!

• Eliminating the Internal Audit (This is actually all on former councilor Jensen and screwing up managing council employees and allowing the mayor to hire the Audit Manager after she was LIKELY on probation with the council. Not sure if that is the case, but it is pretty easy to put 2 & 2 together.)

FISCALLY IRRESPONSIBLE AND CORRUPT!

• Ignoring the LGTB community (I could use a lot of colorful language, no pun intended, but I will just say, the queer community ain’t real impressed with Poops. It also has an economic impact. Many queers in this community own businesses and contribute to our bottom line. Acting like they don’t exist isn’t helping that relationship.)

FISCALLY IRRESPONSIBLE AND CORRUPT!

• Sustainability Report (After a group of volunteers spends months on this project the mayor’s policy advisor, the pumpkin recycler, shreds the document). There is also the economic impact of sustainability.

FISCALLY IRRESPONSIBLE AND CORRUPT!

• Homelessness (The mayor had a press conference today that didn’t solve a damn thing, I know, shocker. The Q & A I heard was quite spicy. A KELOLAND employee busted the mayor in a stat he pulled from his ass. The city needs to figure out how to manage the issue, NOT eliminate it. You will never end homelessness BUT with several measures, policies and ordinances and actual action you can manage the problem. This is what other cities have done, don’t look at it as a problem to SOLVE but something you can MANAGE. The mayor has also ignored the issue thinking it will just go away, that is NEVER a solution. There is also a fiscal impact, and where the city is dropping the ball. The downtown business district brings in a lot of revenue for the city, and with the struggling economy, inflation and now increased homeless traffic they are hurting, which hurts all of us including the homeless.)

FISCALLY IRRESPONSIBLE AND CORRUPT!

• Childcare (Not getting the business community to step up. Poops needs to use the bully pulpit to put his boot up the ass of large companies in this town and have them start subsidizing childcare. I don’t think tax dollars should be used on this, but you have to admit there is a massive labor market fiscal impact if we don’t solve this problem.)

FISCALLY IRRESPONSIBLE AND CORRUPT!

• Backdoor real estate deals (Not only did the mayor laugh all the way to the bank, it helped the buyer increase the value of properties around the one they purchased.)

FISCALLY IRRESPONSIBLE AND CORRUPT!

As you can see, not the best track record, and if we had media in this town with some historical knowledge they would be all over this. Some do, but most don’t.

Speaking of historical knowledge, I have also heard a rumor that city employee morale is way down, not just because of poor leadership by Poops, but because Millennial management has been quietly pushing out Boomers. Besides the fact that employment rules, regs and laws may be broken here due to age discrimination it is even more troubling that the city is ridding itself of city employees with historical knowledge. I often tell people when you eat out, ask to eat in the section of the oldest server they have. Pick a winner every time!

I think it is time to start discussing recall efforts, not only of the Mayor but of the entire Council. This crap is getting old. I encourage anyone who would like to join the effort to email me.

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Councilor Curt Soehl gets Curt with Finance Director

l3wis August 7, 2024 3Comments

At today’s budget hearing the Finance Director decided it was a good time to campaign against IM 28 (food tax). You can’t campaign from the podium, especially as an APPOINTED official.

Soehl informed him that this is not allowable and he should not continue the presentation this way. Then Soehl says, “I would have to give equal time to the proponents of IM 28.”

The response was he was going to do it anyway and he continued. He made some remark about how he isn’t telling people how to vote as he is trashing the initiative on the taxpayers dime as an appointed public official.

Funny how Paul throws candidates out on their butt when they campaign from the podium but obviously instructed his director to do his best hit job.

Such hypocrites.

Also, Joe Kirby did a great article on ALL the initiatives and measures, worth the read! He is a really good writer. Maybe I should only post once a month

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Lots of fun initiatives this fall on the ballot, VOTE YES ON ALL!

l3wis July 30, 2024 0Comments

So I had a change of heart, I almost voted against the food tax repeal, but realized that taxing food is wrong. Of course, our moronic state legislature will just raise taxes on all other retail goods to make up for it essentially hurting the poor even more. These clowns will never figure it out. As for the mayor and his income tax dog and pony show, never gonna happen. This state is ran by Republicans who want to keep their income, they would never in a million years vote for an income tax, and Poops the Apologizer knows it.

So what is on the ballot? Don’t ask me what all the letters and numbers mean, I just know what the proposals are;

Repeal Food Tax: YES! (see above)

Rec MJ: YES! (I have never cared much for Noem, think she is possibly the dumbest person on earth, but when she got the SD Supreme Court to overturn the first time this was passed, all I could think was ‘worthless’ and several other colorful words that mostly started with ‘C’ (you know, for Cannabis). How can you overturn the will of the people? So worthless.

Open Primaries: YES! (I had to do my research on this. While both parties may not like it, f’ck them. 51% of registered voters in America are Indies and we are tired of sitting on the sidelines while the parties play their f’ckery all day long. Alaska recently went with this (they are a rural red state like us) and it has had positive returns in the legislature. The extremists in both parties are gone and the moderates and indies rule the day, and guess what? They are passing positive legislation instead arguing all day!

Legal Abortion: YES! (This is a no-brainer. A majority of Americans support this. I have to admit, I am not a fan of abortion for any reason, especially for birth control. But families and especially women have the right to make these decisions. While aborting a viable fetus can be confusing to those of us on the outside, we don’t know what is going on in the inside. And really, it is none of our business.

While I think some of the clowns running these campaigns are really just grifters making a buck from their endeavors* (whether they win or lose) I do support the initiatives or measures, etc., etc.

*Just look at all the government subsidies this dude got during Covid for his ‘businesses’. Bars and restaurants? Historical theaters? Give me a break! While I support what they are trying to do, don’t be fooled, like the whackos on the other side who are blatantly profiting from the anti-campaign these guys are also making a living.

Say what you will about Theresa Stehly, she has NEVER profited from her initiatives and has used her own personal wealth, several times. It would be wise for these guys to spend a little time with someone who knows how to run these campaigns modestly, you know, where you are not taking ‘consulting’ fees. What a bunch of weasels.

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Sioux Falls Mobile Grocery Store

l3wis April 28, 2023 6Comments

I actually support this idea;

The City of Sioux Falls will be launching a new mobile market offering healthy foods at an affordable cost.

This would include multiple buses with markets stationed throughout neighborhoods in Sioux Falls.

The city will be giving two hundred and fifty thousand dollars to Sioux Falls Thrive to pilot the “Eat Well Sioux Falls mobile market.”

One of the best things about this idea is that the group pushing this, Thrive, lead by former city councilor Michelle Erpenbach, is that they are not re-inventing the wheel, they are instituting the proposal built on proven programs used in other cities and countries.

If you watch the entire presser, you will also realize that the program is expected to be self-sustaining after 18 months. In other words this isn’t just another problem the city throws money at and forgets about a year later, there is a long term goal to make this work.

One of the other intriguing parts is that they will try to help people sign up for SNAP benefits if they need that assistance. I would go even a step farther and have job listings and access to employment and higher education opportunities.

Let’s face it, between inflation, the roller coaster economy, high cost of housing and low wage jobs in Sioux Falls we have put ourselves in this place.

I was astonished to hear in the latest financial report from the city that in 2022 over 50% of sales tax revenue came from restaurants. The hospitality industry is known for some of the lowest wages of any sector.

I’m not sure why the service industry is propping up our sales tax collection but it is proof our economy in Sioux Falls is being supported by a low wage industry. Maybe Thrive needs to look at this disconnect?

I think everyone should have access to affordable food but they also should have access to liveable wages.

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Mayor TenHaken proclaims it is time to focus on infrastructure

l3wis January 2, 2023 10Comments

DakotaNews chief softball pitcher, Brian Allen, recently did an interview with Paul asking him what we should focus on in 2023. Paul said it was time to get back to focusing on infrastructure.

I guess it only took 5 years for Paul to figure out the simple premise of local municipal government; you collect taxes and fees and provide essential services like road maintenance, water and sewer, public safety and outdoor recreation in our parks.

Ever since Mayor Munson, the city has focused more and more on chipping away at our 2nd penny for things like leather chairs for a private movie theater, landscaping and ‘other stuff’ for a private research facility, butterflies and tennis courts while giving massive tax breaks to welfare queen developers.

When former city commissioner Loila Hunking proposed the 2nd penny tax decades ago it was to be in a lockbox and only to be used on road maintenance and in rare occasions other infrastructure projects, since then the penny has been on a wild spending spree that has little to do with the pothole in front of your house.

It often cracks me up listening to past and current mayors and city councilors talk about how we need to ‘get back to’ focusing on infrastructure.

Don’t be fooled by the promises. There is going to be a big fight in Pierre this winter over reducing the food tax and property taxes, one of the proposals will win at the end of the day (I think the property tax cut has a better chance). Mayors and councilors across the state will be crying about the revenue loss and will be asking how they will be able to keep up with essential services and infrastructure.

Let me give you a little advice; stop spending our tax dollars on stupid sh!t.

Downtown Sioux Falls Sioux Falls Sioux Falls Parks and Rec

What’s the ‘REAL’ reason the $16 Million ice ribbon is NOT finished?

Education funding SF School Board Member SF School District Sioux Falls State Funding State Legislature

Sioux Falls School Board rips the State Legislature to shreds

Curt Soehl Downtown Sioux Falls Elections Mayor TenHaken Riverline District SF City Council Sioux Falls

We may have the ‘Trots’ for another few months

Elections Mayor TenHaken Sioux Falls

Is Mayor TenHaken becoming a lame duck on purpose?