South DaCola

Editorial Cartoonist from South Dakota

Developers Development Erica Beck Planning Commission Sioux Falls

Cooper’s retirement is no surprise, and neither will be his replacement

l3wis 4Comments

There has been plenty of public and private conversation about Mike’s retirement;

After a 32-year career with the city of Sioux Falls, Director of Planning and Development Services Mike Cooper Monday announced plans to retire from municipal government next spring.

Before the TenHaken was even elected, there were plenty of people saying Mike would retire in 2019. You can’t blame him, he put in his time. I also don’t think he was forced out. I think this was a planned process that Mike had full control of.

His retirement isn’t the grand mystery surrounding the announcement, this is;

The city will conduct a national talent search to fill the Cooper’s position as director of Planning and Development Services. The director is appointed by the mayor with advice and consent of the City Council.

Why waste the taxpayer’s money? I have said all along that former city planner and now COS, Beck, was going to replace Cooper. Maybe I am wrong, maybe she likes signing Paul’s executive documents and baby sitting TJ NelsOver, but I’m guessing someone who has spent a lifetime in planning and development and went to the same school Cooper did (Metli-Lloyds Planning Academy) is gearing up to take the job. The planning/community development re-org, the rah-rah sessions about TIFs and various other policy decisions Beck has been behind make it pretty clear who is ‘seeking’ that position.

Of course, the administration will put on a big show, but seriously, just spare us the smoke and mirrors, appoint Beck in April when Cooper leaves, and save us the drama.

Mayor TenHaken SFPD Sioux Falls Unions

SFPD Union has some harsh words for Mayor TenHaken

l3wis 22Comments

While people have railed on me in the past about things I say about local public servants, not sure if I can beat a zinger like this;

“(The mayor) has failed every single character test when it comes to the rank and file,” Holbeck said. “Right now, his word is worth about five cents.”

Now that I have stopped laughing, let’s continue.

Another mayor and another snub of the PD. While I have often been critical of policies and leadership at the SFPD, I do think the officers deserve fair pay and reasonable wage increases and benefits. But it seems how to negotiate those contracts goes over the anti-union, right-wing, Republican Mayor’s head;

Holbeck said that response doesn’t sit well with union members, who prefer wages based on responsibility than equity and feel like TenHaken isn’t following through with his commitment to being supportive of law enforcement.

Wouldn’t you pay on what people do instead of thinking the responsibility of all the officers are the same?

This is what happens when you have a partisan-hack who comes from a non-union corporate structure that rewards ‘SALES’ over actual ‘WORK’. This is why I have despised sales people for a very long time. Not all ‘worker bees’ are the same, and they shouldn’t be treated that way.

During the campaign, TenHaken said he’d have an open-door policy for police officers, who have since been told to direct all communications to the mayor through the chief of police; and the mayor didn’t attend any of the negotiation hearings or a recent briefing between the City Council and the union, Holbeck said.

If Paul would have bothered to show up to a couple of meetings, he might have learned something. I guess he was too busy filming carpool karaoke with pastor Keith in his Lexus. Which many people have asked me if the officer was on the clock while filming this or was he just given a free ‘bottle of pop’?

Why is it so hard for city government leaders to complete some of the easiest tasks? If they can’t negotiate a simple union contract, I hate to see what is in store for transit riders. Grab your ankles, the bus is now in motion.

Kristi Noem SF City Council SFPD Sioux Falls Theresa Stehly Trump

Sioux Falls City Councilor Stehly asks Noem to reimburse city for private fundraiser

l3wis 6Comments

Theresa called me at lunch today and asked me if she should ask for this. She also asked many other people. I told her ‘YES’ but I also her told her to check if legally we can ask for it. She checked with the city attorney who said it was legal to ask for it, then she asked the campaign before posting the above image on FB.

I think they should reimburse since this was NOT a public event. Why should the taxpayers of Sioux Falls foot the bill for a private, partisan, fundraiser’s security detail? It is complete BS!

Other cities have agreed;

While other cities, such as Fargo, have requested reimbursement for costs associated with Trump’s visits for private fundraisers, neither the city of Sioux Falls nor the state have formally requested refunds.

It will be interesting to hear the response from Noem’s team. Heck, maybe she might even write that check. But I am not holding my breath. The GOP in SD has a long history of taxpayers funding their extracurricular partisan activities (ALEC memberships for example).

I think it took a lot of courage for a life long Republican to ask for this from the Noem campaign. Now let’s see how fast the GOP Hate machine beats up Stehly over this.

Get out the popcorn!

Audit SF City Council Sioux Falls

UPDATE: More like 15 months w/o internal auditing

l3wis 0Comments

UPDATE: Just for clarification, what I posted here are the WORDS of the COMMITTEE members, they are NOT mine. Just watch the video. Also, in NO WAY do I hold the city internal audit employees accountable for what ‘hasn’t been being done’. They have had to deal with a lack of a leadership, and that’s on the committee, as they stated in the video.

I stand corrected about what I said at Public Input the other night at city council. I guess a city councilor said I misspoke the other night by saying we went 9 months w/o internal auditing, and they were right. After watching the audit meeting (Dec 3, 2018 meeting, BELOW, FF: 1:20:00) it will be more like 15 months before we have a fully functional audit department.

Committee member Dean Buckneberg asks, “When was the last time we had a fully staffed audit department?” Neitzert replies, “June (2018).” Dean replies, “It will be another 9 months before we are fully staffed.”

So it seems it is even longer than I originally thought.

 

Sioux Falls

Can Public transit in Sioux Falls be fixed? I think so!

l3wis 4Comments

While the city is busy recruiting all kinds of people to fix the transit problem (besides just expensive consultants and bureaucrats), which I commend them on, they need to be careful in that process. I’m a firm believer in the fact that too many cooks spoil the stew.

First I think they need to realize a few things that are important to the discussion;

• It will cost money, and will still have to be subsidized. We subsidize many things in our community such as the Pavilion, the EC, the parks system, the Zoo, for example, and like the transit system, many people in the community who fund these entities don’t use them. But we do get something back from subsidizing the transit system; a workforce that is actually contributing to our economy instead depending on the government for living.

• Needs to be expanded city wide and hours of operation. One of the biggest complaints I hear from users is that it doesn’t run 7 days a week and the hours of operation are not long enough. With a 24/7 workforce in a modern city we need a public transit system that reflects that.

• The grid system should be explored. Many have said that it won’t work, but unless we try it, we will never now. The transit problems won’t be fixed overnight, it will take trial and error over a long period of time. Let’s try the grid system. It may also solve shortening ride times (which are also an issue).

• Explore ‘Park and Rides’. This is something they do in larger cities. It may not be something Sioux Falls would embrace, but if the ride is a short and mostly a direct commute, it may appeal to more people.

• Should we continue to contract with a transit management company or should the city take it over? Not sure, but it should be looked at.

• The rate structure should be changed. There should be options based on income, age, family size, etc. I know that some of that stuff is being done right now, but it needs to be more diverse. I also think that when people are starting to use the transit system for the first time, or exploring using it, they should get a 30 day free pass to try it out.

I’m not sure what will come out of the new task force, but I think if they concentrate on solving the simple problems and stop focusing on the raw cost, it is a solvable problem.

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