I have been hearing from several citizens that you are unable to pay your utility bill online. The site is NOT working.
I guess I am not certain what is happening, but when it comes to the city collecting one of their biggest fees, they would get their poop in a group. Maybe Innovation Director II will step in a fix it . . . if they can find him.
Poops sent out this fundraising email talking about how he navigated us through all the things he didn’t sign up for;
Friend,
In less than two months (49 days, to be exact), voters will choose who will guide Sioux Falls forward for the next four years. As Mayor, I’ve worked to provide a steady hand as Sioux Falls dealt with the unexpected.Flooding.
Tornadoes.
Civil unrest.
And a worldwide pandemic.While leading through it hasn’t been easy, our city has shown incredible resilience. I’m proud of the way we’ve pulled together and hope through.
When he talks about ‘Civil unrest’ is he referring to panhandling, the Dudley house parking lot, union contract negotiations, his police department, management turnover or all of the above?
All candidates have until 5 PM Friday to turn in petitions to get on the ballot. I’m hearing a lot of chatter that Friday will have some big and new announcements.
This is where we are at;
• Mayor; 3 candidates announced (I have not heard of any more, which disappoints me, but we may never now).
• At-Large A; 3 candidates announced, ALL WOMEN! (I also have not heard of any more in this race).
• At-Large B; 3 candidates announced (While I have not heard of any more, I wouldn’t be surprised if another candidate(s) jumps in).
• SE District; 1 Candidate announced (I have heard there may be up to 3 more announcing by Friday).
• Central District; 2 Candidates announced (I have heard this may be a crowded race with a possibility of 2-3 more candidates jumping in on Friday).
With some of the names being thrown around, I am excited that ALL races will be well balanced. So far we have a color blind graphic designer, a medical lab manager, 2 doctors, 3 lawyers, a pastor, a used car salesman, an insurance salesman (retired fire fighter) and many more professions.
There will likely be at least 1-3 runoffs in this election with city council seats. Unfortunately I don’t think there will be a runoff in the mayoral race. Winning candidates MUST receive at least 51% of the vote in the general election to avoid a runoff.
I will announce my early predictions and candidate profiles probably this weekend once I know who is running and more importantly who they are. Of the ones that have NOT announced, if they do, we will have one of the most diverse city election candidate pools of all time when it comes to ethnicity, gender and profession.
I am pretty excited . . . this time around we must stop big money in its tracks and hopefully create a more balanced council and since we won’t have silly primary voters mucking up the voting rolls we may get a very fair and balanced city election.
I had to chuckle a bit when I saw this announcement today (where was Paul’s SECRET insider text message?).
Apparently it is okay to use Cannabis leaves to promote a Snoop concert at a taxpayer funded entertainment facility, but using the leaves on a medical MJ dispensary sign would be the end of the world.
What makes both ridiculous is that it is only a plant and not some kind of evil imagery.
While there has certainly a lot of talk about looking at hiring practices for SFPD I am NOT sure that is the bigger issue. I think our police force needs, no deserves, better ongoing training. Not only in diversity and criminal justice, but also integrity and ethics. I personally think that consistent and frequent training of our officers would produce better officers in the long run.
Citizen advocate Emmett Reistroffer said this recently on his FB page;
The City of Sioux Falls, Mayor Paul Ten Haken, and Police Chief Thum must immediately begin the process to seek accreditation for the Sioux Falls Police Department. It’s not enough for city leaders to simply say they’re “angry” about the recent arrests of officers – we expect a plan of action, and in my opinion, that begins with ensuring our department implements best practices, including independent oversight and auditing. Accreditation alone won’t solve every issue or prevent every case of misconduct, but it should drastically improve the culture within the department and establish standards for excellence. Everyone stands to gain from accreditation, including the Chief, officers, and community members.
Accreditation helps police departments operate more professionally, justify their operations, and promote trust in their community. Most accrediting programs require agencies to assess high-liability areas of their operations, provide officers with more training, and hold officers accountable for policy and training compliance. Accreditation also promotes transparency and self-reflection within an agency, which fosters a culture of accountability. When an agency enrolls in an accreditation process, they are committing to excellence in leadership, resource management, and delivery of services.
Recently at Amir Locke’s funeral in Minneapolis, his Aunt spoke out about police and the job they have. While most of her eulogy embraced how police treat young black men, she did touch on something (FF 40:50) that got me thinking when it comes to ALL police officers ‘We don’t want to hear about being a police officer is a difficult job . . . You were NOT drafted into the police department. You chose that profession.’
Her statement is poignant, because she is absolutely correct. Deciding to take a career in policing is your choice. And if you make that choice, you have to live up to a certain code of conduct, on and off the job.
In fact, if you choose to be a police officer, you are NOT even in the top 10 of dangerous jobs. Police officers rate 18th nationally.
Trust me, I am not putting this all on a person who chooses the profession. Anybody that works for the tax payers should feel safe, but that safety only comes from being well-trained and professional.
So far 3 Sioux Falls officers have been arrested over the past 6 weeks or so, there may be more, no one knows for sure, even Lincoln County State’s Attorney Wollman was uncertain if more arrests would be made due to officer Jock allegedly distributing child porn videos.
But there is a bigger gorilla in this mess, LACK OF LEADERSHIP!
I have been warning for quite awhile that our city leaders have been on cruise control and only focused on handouts to big donors (mostly massive tax breaks for developers and insider land deals) instead of the day to day operations of the city.
The city charter clearly states the role of the Mayor (City Manager);
§ 31.002 POWERS OF THE MAYOR. The mayor shall have the power to prescribe executive orders for an interim successor and for the creation of departments of the administration, as provided in city charter §§ 2.03 and 4.01. The mayor shall also have the power to prescribe rules and regulations that the mayor deems necessary or expedient for the conduct of employees in departments and administrative agencies subject to his or her authority. The mayor shall have the power to revoke, suspend or amend any executive order, provided the executive orders do not conflict with city charter or ordinance. All executive orders shall be filed with the city clerk.
That middle sentence is important, because that is ultimately his ONLY duty as mayor, and Poops has failed miserably. In fact you could argue it is a dereliction of duty. While he is off in the weeds worrying about policy making (the job of the council) he has done very little to lift up the SFPD or even regular city employees who have to go begging for an inflation bonus.
Just look at the list of directors or managers that have either quit on their own, were terminated or retired in 3 short years;
• TWO Fire Chiefs
• Police Chief
• Planning Director
• Deputy Chief of Staff
• Housing Director
• Building Services Manager
• Innovation Manager
• The FIRST and ONLY Chief Cultural Officer (this was the supposed important one he needed to get the city employees inline with his imaginary initiatives)
• Health Director and one Assistant Health Director
I may have missed a few.
I don’t think the city has a hiring problem when it comes to selecting new officers, they have an ongoing training problem, and I am not sure this Mayor and Police Chief are cut out for it. As I said in public input during Tuesday’s meeting, ‘Politicians get angry when they get caught.’ TenHaken got caught not running the city and the police department properly and all the crocodile tears in the world won’t fix it.
l3wis