Heuther encourages the Council to help him vet possible public board members

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Stehly says, Bring it on!

The city put out this press release today;

Mayor Mike Huether has announced a vacancy to the Public Parking Advisory Board (PPAB).

The PPAB is composed of seven members that are appointed for a five-year term by the Mayor with the advice and consent of the City Council. Interested persons should have a strong commitment to public service and to downtown Sioux Falls

Recently the Mayor has asked the council to get more involved with the vetting process. Stehly responded to the press release today, sending this email to the media, the Mayor’s staff and city employees;

Good afternoon Julie (Wilson – Administrative Assistant to the Mayor).

I have a request. It would be helpful if you could include the names of the current board members when these vacancies come up. And  also if you could tell us the name/ names of the board member who is vacating the position.

I would also request that we see the names of all the applicants for the vacancy.

There has been community discussion lately about the City Council’s need to do more vetting of nominees before we vote them in. I would love to have more input into the selection process, similar to what was done for the Redistricting Commission. Knowing who is applying would be a first step in helping us to in make an informed decision for the citizens.

Again, I would be grateful for the names of the board members, the member not returning and the applicants for the position.

Thanks, Theresa Stehly

I have often thought the council should be more involved with these decisions. Sometimes they may have special knowledge of an applicant the mayor does not, whether that is positive or negative.

Cameraman Bruce weighs in

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An open Note to Mayor Mike Huether

Nice try trying to snow us on a hot July day as the roads are blowing apart from your poor planning. The heat buckles caused by doing superficial street repair in an effort to save money for your precious play palaces. Many have warned you for years to reconsider wasting the second penny sales tax on bond payments.

The 6,500 who signed our petitions in 2016 were trying to warn you about wasting money on the Romantix Annex Administration Building because sales tax revenue was already faltering.

The arrogance of taking the refunded levee bond money and saying it was free cash to spend on a swimming pool so you could do a cannonball on our dreams of smoother roads.

You started out by deceitfully planning to be open about contracts and plans for Sioux Falls’ future. The Events Center is a case in point. We have been witness to your backroom deals and special arrangements to suck money out of Sioux Falls, never to be seen again. I can’t even imagine the millions that will be flying out the door with 6 sold out Garth shows.

What could Sioux Falls do with the $20 – $30 million per year now being spent on bond payments for your vanity projects?

Your vanity projects have cost many areas of Sioux Falls their future. As Rex Rolfing said at the recent Informational, projects have been moved to the 41st legislative day, effectively killing them.

What a legacy. Only you cast the deciding votes to create your vision of a boom town and as all boom towns go, there is a bust to follow. A new mayoral style coming not soon enough will be saddled with your poor decisions.

Billie Sutton’s Campaign

I’ve got friends in LOW PLACES called the Dem Party and their EX FACES in the executive office . . .

After all the Democratic party policy rejections by Billie Sutton over the years why would he run as a Democrat? The meetings I have been in where he has spoken he comes across as a west river hick who uses the FOX news Rush Limbaugh terminology at every stop. If you are claiming to be something, be it.

His decision to bring in Susie as his campaign pro is a sure sign of defeat.

Huether repeats the EC ‘Running in Black’ lie during Budget Address

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Wouldn’t it be great if you wouldn’t have to consider your mortgage payment on your house as debt? Or affecting your monthly income by making that payment?

That is the philosophy of Mayor Huether when it comes to the Events Center. During the budget address he said the place was running in black ($4.5 million net operating profit), and went on to say the same about the Indoor Pool which operating almost even revenue/expenses.

He of course leaves out the mortgage payments on both facilities which are close to $10 million a year.

Nice try though Mike.

Huether agrees to transparency with data as he has one foot out the door

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“I’m all for opening the books of the city, and I will make sure that happens, in May of 2018. Think of it as my parting gift.”

Well he has told us he is the ‘most transparent’ mayor ever, he just never mentioned it would happen as he was leaving;

As part of the What Works Cities initiative, Sioux Falls will improve open data practices to make public information more accessible and to engage residents around government priorities and services. The project will include creating an inventory of the City’s data resources; developing a plan for data governance; making data available to the public and City staff in a more useful and responsive way; and helping City staff to maximize the use of data in their daily work. The first area of municipal government to undergo the work will be neighborhood services, including code enforcement, with the goal of making the process replicable for other departments and divisions.

“Over the past seven years, we have worked hard to make Sioux Falls City government more productive and efficient, and this partnership will take us to even greater heights. We are proud to be selected as part of this initiative,” says Mayor Huether.

For the past 7 years the only thing Huether has been dedicated to is keeping government as closed as possible, so this 180 turn by him is laughable, especially since he only has 10 months left in his tenure.

Trust me, I support this 100% and think it is a fantastic program, we should have implemented it 20 years ago, but better late than never.