I was told to listen to this podcast from a few weeks ago. Argus Leader reporter, J. Ellis talks about investigative reporting, remembering Kermit Staggers and the communication skills of TenHaken’s office. Good stuff.
As you have probably heard on Facebook and other blogs, former City Councilor Dr. Kermit Staggers has entered hospice care in preparation for his next journey through the universe.
Theresa Stehly offered a beautiful prayer this afternoon for Kermit at the city council informational meeting.
There is a lot I could say about my relationship with Kermit, but I only want to use one word that describes it best, HONESTY. I have always been honest with him, and he has done the same with me and hundreds if not thousands of other people in this community. It is truly a RARE attribute in a politician these days.
There is much more I could say about Kermit, but I think if you just click on the link below, you can read about all the things he has done for this community. It really is overwhelming.
You will always be in our hearts sir.
So Pitty Pat decided to chime in on Alex Jensen’s fundraiser last night. Like I have said before, I don’t really have an opinion on Alex, because he really has NO political resume. His time in the legislature was minimal and he usually voted with the GOP majority. That aside, I did enjoy a couple of tidbits from the event;
You might have even caught a glimpse of a city councilor or two.
I heard that Marshall Selberg and Greg Neitzert showed up, (correction, Erica Beck WAS NOT in attendance). This of course is 2nd hand information since I wasn’t there. But this part of Pitty’s assessment had me rolling in the aisles
You did hear business people note they were weary of being considered an enemy as opposed to a valued parter in the future of the city.
UPDATE: So it’s funny how this was being ‘spinned’. I was told by a person in attendance that the REAL frustration business owners were having is the problems in the 8th Street & Fairfax area with homeless. And apparently that frustration (I’m guessing) is the city partnering with the business owners for a solution. For the record, this really is an administration and police issue, BUT, Stehly did hold a meeting to hear their concerns. So if the business owners are frustrated, it certainly has nothing to do with the Stehly OR Jensen.
So business owners feel like the city is making them the enemy and not partnering with them? That’s hilarious. Well, the biggest partnership in the history of the city went down the tubes, the Bunker Ramp and the RR Redevelopment isn’t looking much better. Other then that the city has consistently given handouts to some of the biggest developers in this city. For almost two decades they have gotten millions in TIF’s, Tax reductions, infrastructure upgrades, worker training programs, etc. and in return citizens have gotten pallet humper jobs and low wages. We also have gotten higher property taxes to pay for these ‘partnerships’ and in return we must beg the city for a low interest loan to fix our furnaces (Community Development Loans). The working class has gotten the shaft due to these ‘Partnerships’. Any business that complains that the city is treating them like ‘the enemy’ is either blind, ignorant, naïve, stupid or just flat out lying. The greed is insurmountable.
The business community is upset because Stehly can’t be bought with a tiny $250 donation. For the first time since Kermit Staggers, the people have a voice with Stehly, she fights for them, because as taxpayers we are the REAL partners driving the economy in this town and we are tired of feeling like the ENEMY. We saw this with the Tornado cleanup last week where citizens helped each other while the city fiddle-F’ckd around with their FB messaging.
Guest Column by Patrick Lalley
In government and politics there is a direct line between votes and votes.
That’s not a typo.
It means that when you enter the arena of elected office every vote you take becomes potential fodder against you. That’s just part of the deal and most people know that going in.
Party caucus leaders in legislatures and Congress will perform all sorts of procedural gymnastics to either prevent their members from taking a “bad†vote or forcing the folks on the other side into the same.
For better or worse, that’s the game.
It’s fun to watch in the hands of the masters.
It’s pathetic in the hands of amateurs.
That’s what I was thinking on Tuesday night during City Council Bingo at Full Circle Book Co-op.
The issue: Whether to look into diverting some parking ticket money to the Banquet’s SOS program, which collects school supplies for low-income families.
NOTE: Before we go any further can we just say that we all love the good people at The Banquet? If you don’t, raise your hand. Good. That saves us some time.
NOTE 2: This one is for the City Council. We all love The Banquet, as evidenced by Note 1. You don’t have to tell us that you do as well.
NOTE 3: If you didn’t see the City Council meeting on Tuesday, based on the comments, I can only assume each of the members has donated thousands of dollars to The Banquet.
Back to the issue of the parking ticket money and the low-income students. Councilor Theresa Stehly forwarded a resolution to ask Mayor Paul TenHaken and his people to look into a Las Vegas deal under which ticket cash was diverted to a similar program.
Now, let’s just say for the record that any time you’re using Vegas as your example, maybe you’ve gone a little off the mark. That being said, we’re talking about a pretty harmless request, a resolution saying can you look into this.
Boom.
Done.
Move on.
Which would be all well and good if our current collection of city councilors weren’t so concerned about what Theresa is doing, or saying, or writing.
Instead of voting no and letting it go, which in truth is the correct vote for all kinds of reasons, Councilor Curt Soehl decided to up the game with an amendment to the resolution.
That’s where the wheels came off.
All of them.
Wheels hanging out of the trees.
Gone.
The details at this point get a little fuzzy, but basically the city attorney said the amendment to the resolution would require a public notice, etc. etc.
But the underlying issue here is that Councilor Soehl thought it was a good idea to poke Councilor Stehly in the eye with a procedural stick.
The best defense against a bad guy with a stick is a good guy with a stick.
Wait, that analogy took a turn. Oh well, weapons.
Let’s just say that it went bad and after a bit of wrangling and ridiculous positioning the entire council looked like blithering fools.
Political positioning in legislative bodies is an art.
This was not that.
I get that there’s a fissure on the council. It’s 5 to 3 in a lot of situations in which there is disagreement.
NOTE 4: But for a couple hundred public service sector union votes that put Soehl in that seat, it could very well be 4 to 4. Think about that for a second.
And if you don’t like Theresa Stehly, that’s fine, you probably have similar opinions in your echo chamber. And to be clear, she’s not a political strategist.
In fact, let’s get back to politics. Specifically, let’s talk about elections.
Former councilor and state legislator Kermit Staggers won a lot of elections and I would venture that about 6 percent of people actually agree with him on philosophy. But the man was an advocate.
He showed up.
He listened.
That’s what Theresa is, an advocate for people who don’t have a voice.
That plays my friends. It always has and it always will.
Here’s my advice to Councilor Soehl and like-minded folks who want to try and use the legislative process as a political tool.
Be careful.
Back in my reporting days, in a land far, far away, we used to have a saying.
Shut up and vote.
City Council Working Session • 2 PM
They will be discussion unobligated funds and amendments.
There are some interesting proposals in the unobligated funds;
• A NEW Batallion Chief for ALS and EMS. It will be interesting to see what proposal the Mayor’s office has with public ambulances.
• SWAT armor for bomb techs. One city councilor asked me, “Don’t they have this already?” I would hope so.
• A new Full-Time Bike Trail Service worker. While this isn’t unusual in itself, at $64K a year, where do I apply for this job?
• A ‘community branding’ expenditure of $25,000. Not sure who they are giving this to and what for? I would think that the CVB would have this in their budget already with the BID Tax.
City Council Informational Meeting • 4 PM
They will be approving the CVB yearly budget and getting a presentation about the early renewal of the Paramedics Plus contract. Hopefully we will have more details about the Mayor’s proposal on EMS.
City Council Public Services Meeting • Around 5 PM (After Informational meeting)
They will get a presentation on updating the Landfill ordinances.
Councilors Neitzert and Erickson are also proposing new ‘community standards’ for outdoor natural gas fire pits at commercial/retail/public/hospitality locations. Apparently they met back in May with city officials to discuss it. Who knew?
City Council Regular Meeting • 7 PM
Item #1, Approval of Contracts. Another EXTRA $56K towards the DT Parking Ramp boondoggle.
Item #3, Approving a Parks and Rec consultant at $200K. I do know that some of the councilors are dissenting on this, so I am not sure if this will pass or not.
(FF: 1:31 to hear me discuss the parks study)
Item#4, 1st Reading. A 2.1% property tax increase by the city. This has never failed to pass by the council for a very long time. I would expect they have the votes to pass this on 2nd reading, but I would also guess there will be some dissenters. So much for the $2 a month tax increase? Right?
Item#5-7, 1st readings, ordinances dealing with Ash trees that are needed. I feel there will be 100% support on these items.
Item#9, Resolution to certify the City Council supports stopping demolition of historic homes. I still don’t know all the details on this and why they are voting on this again, I thought it was a done deal. I was told this was only to ‘certify’ the vote and decision already made by the city council, which I find odd. It will be interesting to see what kind of testimony comes from this and if this is some kind of trick to reverse the decision. Seriously, I am clueless on this one.
Item #10, Resolution adopting 2019 Budget and Capital Budget. I believe this is when the city council will debate the budget and amendments. I have NO idea what those amendments will be, but they will be revealed at the working session earlier in the afternoon. When Dr. Staggers was on the city council he propose several amendments. I miss those days 🙂
Item #11, Resolution approving the DT special assessment role. Not sure if any businesses will dissent paying this extra tax that helps to fund DTSF, but has been some in past years.
Item #13, A resolution approving the BID Tax budget for the CVB.
Item #14, A resolution asking for grant assistance from the state to help with the Emerald Ash Borer and equipment that needs to be purchased to remove trees.
Items #16-17, resolutions, An alley way and street vacation. I don’t know much about these items, I guess I will wait to see the presentations.
Charter Revision Meeting, 4 PM Wednesday, Sep 12
They will be discussing the mayor’s salary. I find it interesting that the Sioux Falls mayor is one of the highest paid in the region, even with much larger cities. Madison, WI and St. Paul, MN only pay more. Sioux Falls mayor makes $124K full time, Des Moines mayor only makes $52K, Lincoln, $80K and Omaha, $102K. These are all full-time positions. I’m wondering if Des Moines pay is so low because they may have a city administrator?