Mayor Mike lays out his vision for the press
During the informational meeting, Mike had this to say about the media concerning the recent audit of Global Spectrum
“. . . why I think it is important to verify the recommendations is that it will help us manage the press as well, not that we want to tell the Argus Leader, KELO, KSFY or KDLT what to report on but I think it will help the public understand that having this business audited is a good thing, and that’s how they started the process, when I was in business, I wanted my department to be audited, because I wanted them to find recommendations and mistakes prior to the press, or 60 Minutes or some Eide Bailley or whoever will be find it, and in this case I think it got out of hand, and I think the spirit was good and then I think oh my gosh, the sky is falling when in reality it wasn’t . . . “
Mike sure has a skewed view of ‘The fourth estate’ It is their job to report everything; the good, the bad and the ugly. One reason why blogs have gotten so popular is because the MSM isn’t reporting that way anymore. This is also an interesting comment, because this is a guy who has had hissy-fits with several media people for simply reporting the facts about his campaign. The media needs to keep an eye on Mr. Huether, I think he will be a Slippery Pete when it comes to the press.
It also seems that the council doesn’t want him to continue the King Dave practice of money transfers;
Sioux Falls city councilors Tuesday set the stage for the latest battle with the mayor’s office over who controls tax dollars, an ongoing struggle that former mayor Dave Munson’s administration also confronted.
If Huether wants to shift money among projects, he might have to get the City Council’s approval first. Councilors are looking into requiring their authorization on certain money transfers – an action Huether opposes.
Which is interesting, because if Mike wants to be a ‘fiscally prudent’ mayor, wouldn’t he want more checks and balances in place?
“I think it’s a good form of checks and balances, and we are protecting our constituents,” councilor Rex Rolfing said.
It is possible to put a process in place without disrupting our form of government. In Omaha, which has the same form of city charter, I believe, the council has to approve any money transfer over $20,000. While that may make the council meetings last longer, there may be a way to streamline that process.
Brown later said, “It’s like handing a big bag of money to one person, in this case the mayor” and allowing him to spend it on projects of his choosing.
But Huether doesn’t think council approval is necessary.
“City government already moves slow enough because of all the controls that are in place,” he said. “At some point, you’ve got to allow government to work, and you have to trust government to work.”
That is the problem, the council trusted the last mayor on this issue, and where did it get us? $300 million in debt. This isn’t about TRUST anyway, it is about checks and balances and I hope the city council moves forward on this issue.