Nice Card
l3wis Every time I think I’m going to give up my blog, I get a great card like this in the mail. Thank You!
March 2017
2017 City Salaries; City Council
Today we will look at the city council employees.
Of the 8 employees in the office (besides the 8 city councilors), there are 3 internal auditors, a city clerk, and two assistant clerks, an operations manager and a budget manager. Not including the 8 city councilors (They make around $18K each), the salaries equal over $500K.
While I find nothing controversial about the salaries to the assistant city clerks and internal auditors, I do have some concern with the City Clerk ($83K) The Operations Manager ($97K) and the Budget Analyst ($80K). Before Debra Owen was terminated she wore all three hats and was making around $70K. Not only did it take three people to replace Debra, apparently it also took an extra $190K a year in salaries. When Owen left I remember a couple of city councilors (who were adamant about firing her) telling the public that they would be ‘saving’ the tax payers money. Not sure what calculations they were using?
My suggestion would be to combine the Operations and Budget position, and hire a city clerk with a law degree and license to practice so they can confidently give the council a 2nd opinion on matters. I know that Debra had a law degree and used to help advise the council on many legal issues.
Here is the full doc: 2017-Wages
THRIVE REPORT: Part I
I finally finished reading the 227 page Report (DOC: Affordable_Housing_Needs_Assessment_2016). I encourage others to do the same.
I will be breaking down some of the more interesting STATS I pulled from the report.
My initial analysis is that Sioux Falls is going down a GRIM path when it comes to Affordable Housing, unless we take action NOW. This is what the report is encouraging.
The Report Points out;
Poor or No coordination and inefficiency between affordable housing organizations
Household incomes at or below $25K are increasing at a drastic rate and the divide between rich and poor is growing while middle income stays stagnant.
Extreme population growth has contributed to problem.
The task force recommends starting with the most vunerable, children living in poverty.
This table shows the gap between rich and poor and really how the poor are getting poorer and the rich increasing at a faster pace.
This table shows the projected enormous growth in the Healthcare industry in SF.
This shows the poverty that exists within our school system.
37% of SF workers make under $25K
THRIVE REPORT: Part II
This table shows the exploding home values.
This breaks down rental property in zip codes.
This breaks down rental rates in SF.
This breaks down income and home ownership.
This shows the percentages of school kids living in poverty.
THRIVE REPORT: Part III
These are some comments from people looking for affordable housing.
These comments prove that affordable housing needs to be built in our core and not out by $300K homes.
These comments are about all the ‘HYPE’ in national rating firms and magazines.
