TenHaken brings in some campaign goons from Wisconsin and Iowa?
l3wis We all know NW Iowa is the stomping grounds of the Dutch Mafia, so no surprise.
Sioux Falls
Sioux Falls City Council still considers their ‘SPECIAL’ meeting on Jan 31 the 1st Regular meeting of February
As you can see below the city council only held two regular meetings in February and skipped the 3rd regular Tuesday meeting this month. They are only required to have one regular meeting a month so skipping the 3rd is not a big deal except for the fact they normally have three.
What does this say?
It says they still consider the special meeting on January 31, the 1st regular meeting of February.
You would think with all the issues they are having with employees . . . they would at least try to do something right, like designating meetings correctly. But not this bunch.
Cruise control government has just officially gone over the rumblestrips and straight for the ditch.
So are City of Sioux Falls Union Reps admitting they have failed their members?
This story gets more confusing by the minute, first the hussle-bussle on Cory’s site;
They received a 1% COLA last year, this cannot wait. – Kooper Caraway, president of the South Dakota Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO
Well Mr. Caraway, whose fault is that? It’s certainly not the taxpayers fault. You are the chief negotiator. Unless you have been living under a rock, economists have been talking about how the economic recovery will go, they have predicted inflation, employment issues etc. This is not some surprise. So why didn’t you negotiate this to begin with?
I will also say that I have never heard of a non-management union employee of the city living paycheck to paycheck. Maybe it is happening, but you truly need to supply proof. You have not.
But it didn’t stop them from bullying a mayoral candidate;
In a statement to the Argus Leader Wednesday afternoon, Islam said “since [the ordinance] was advanced to a second reading last night, it should be approved on March 1.”
Do they deserve this? I am not sure. But if they do it isn’t because inflation suddenly reared its head it’s because the original negotiations were horrible. Who accepts a 1% raise even in normal economic times?
But I will argue it still goes back to whose money this is. The taxpayers. Why are we so quick to hand out bonuses when this money could be spent on much needed infrastructure projects for the very people who paid in the money?
I am astounded how this has become so complicated and convoluted;
• The union messed up in the original bargaining agreement
• They want to save face
• The timing is horrific, so they make excuses
You can spin this how ever you want to, you can bully candidates, but at the end of the day a spade is a spade. This is a bribe right before an election and any other assessment is hogwash and circumvent.
Sioux Falls City Council Candidate hands out free money thru his church
And we thought it was questionable when one candidate was buying pizza and rounds of mini-golf, or Poops giving secretly negotiated bonuses to city employees. Candidate for At-Large B, Pastor Rich Merkouris’ church is handing out gift cards
Fill out this form, and you will receive a $25 gift card to give to that person.
But that’s just the beginning.
You can request up to $500 to help someone with a specific need. The barrier to receiving money is low. There is some follow-up to check on the details, but the goal is to fulfill as many requests as possible, Merkouris said.
And if you need help, just ask.
The budget for the campaign is $45,000.
Don’t get me wrong, I will commend any non-profit or church that wants to help people in our community, like the weekly food giveaway at the fairgrounds, but this is questionable considering the good pastor is running for city council and these gift cards could appear as a way to buy votes. It seems the crowd that runs with the mayor can only win elections with money.
I sometimes wonder if anybody running for office has any sense of ethics?
City of Sioux Falls Employee Bonus Bribes moves to 2nd reading
While it is no surprise this is advancing, there were quite a few surprises last night. I was encouraged by the council’s discussion and the public input. By the look on the mayor’s face last night you could tell he was very uncomfortable discussing this because it is pretty obvious to everyone what this is, a pre-election bribe to city employees negotiated in total darkness.
I don’t disagree with the bonus, I disagree with the process.