April 2012

Are taxpayer’s overfunding essential services? Embezzler’s think so.

While it is ‘sad’ that people embezzle, what is even more sad is that it took so long to notice. Why is that?

I’m not the judge and jury, and I am sure Baustian will get her day in court. But let’s look at the big picture here. Minnehaha county had a similar incident with the embezzlement of the Sioux Empire Fair, which went unnoticed for a long time.

I don’t want to point fingers at people who neglected to notice these misgivings, but I do want to bring up something that has been bugging me about the embezzlers (both TEA and Fairgrounds): The constant begging of funds.

Why is it that these organizations focus so much on ‘Needing more money’ and asking for the public to fund them, but don’t miss hundreds of thousands of dollars?

Maybe they are overfunded?

If embezzlers can steal large amounts of money for several years without anyone noticing, doesn’t this send a message?

Even in the pimple of a town like Tea, they are milking the taxpayers for something as basic as fire service while their accountant is living high on the hog.

Enough with chasing the embezzlers down, we need to be questioning the politicians that are legislating the funding of these entities.

What is our fascination w/pedestrian bridges anyway? (H/T Super Friend CR)

Lady MacErpenbach was preaching the benefits of pedestrian bridges;

Phase two is expected to begin this summer.  Part of the next phase requires moving the pedestrian bridge on 8th Street and building a new one resembling the bridge near Cherapa Place.  The cost for moving the old bridge, designing and building a new bridge and permits could be around $1.5 million.  Erpenbach said it is more cost effective to do this now.

Let’s go over this one more time; THERE IS ALREADY PEDESTRIAN BRIDGES OVER 6TH AND 8TH STREETS, THEY ARE CALLED FREAKING SIDEWALKS!

This project still has me scratching my head. While beautiful, it only seems to benefit the businesses that are adjacent to the greenway while the lowly taxpayer pays for it.

Why don’t we take the $4 million dollars and put it back in the reserves. And if a turd explosion happens again in a large neighborhood, we have money to fix it.

Maybe I’m just talking out of my ass . . .

Rant-A-Bit Episode #12; Guest Councilor elect Kermit Staggers

Just a few days after his impressive win for the at-large seat in the Sioux Falls City Council, Kermit Staggers returned to the Rant-a-Bit studio to discuss various local issues. Besides congratulating him on his victory, Scott and Scott peppered Staggers with questions about city finances, the Event Center, his relationship with Mayor Mike Huether, and other pressing topics.

Downloading this episode is different than past shows, however, thanks to Mevio’s decision to no longer host audio shows. The easiest way to listen to the show? Download Hudson’s iPhone/Android app The Ledge and you can access not only all of the Rant a Bit episodes but also his music and Big Brother podcasts. Subscribing to the show in iTunes will take a little work, however, as the original Rant a Bit podcast is a dead link.

FOR ALL THE LINKS

Young Democrats rear their heads and run for the legislature

Carmen Toft

Not sure if you know Carmen or not, but you should. She is running for the District 10 House seat.

Chris Studer (his ‘Unofficial’ campaign photo)

The former Sioux Falls TV reporter is running for the District 22 Senate seat;

“I want my kids to grow up in a state that cares about education, that cares about quality of life, that cares about each other,” he said. “I think we need to do better; we can do better.”