April 2019

Does it pay to be on the NSP Energy board?

l3wis April 10, 2019 8Comments

Last night at the Sioux Falls City Council meeting, Councilor Kiley recused himself from voting on items #21-22 that have to do with Northern States Power. I do know that councilors in the past have served on some kind of board with the energy company, so it was wise of him to recuse himself.

Usually these boards have some kind of compensation to be on them, or at the least compensate for travel/lodging and meeting time. A state official has said that Kiley is NOT being paid to be on the board, which seems a little strange. Would you serve on an energy board without pay out of the goodness of your heart? And if you were not getting paid to be on the board, what’s the point in recusal?

It just doesn’t add up. If anyone has a link showing the board members and compensation, that would be helpful.

Property Taxes Rapid City SF School District Sioux Falls Taxes

West River math VS. East River math

l3wis April 10, 2019 4Comments

So this is an interesting story;

RCSD – $250m – $20/month increase in property taxes on every $100,000 of valueÂ =Â $240 yr

Morrison/Vik/Maher MATH:

SFSD – $190m – $2/month increase in property taxes on $100,000Â =Â $24 yr

So which finance director is telling the truth?

I do know that the SFSD rearranged their capital outlay levees, but the disparity is strange. I also wonder if they plan to pay off the bonds a lot faster in RC?

Mayor TenHaken Sioux Falls

Is Mayor TenHaken secretly training to become a Liberal?

l3wis April 9, 2019 5Comments

Before everyone chews me out for the title of the post, I was being sarcastic. But one has to wonder. I have been researching Bloomberg Philanthropies just out of curiosity since PTH has been taking night courses with the organization.

Besides being advocates of Innovation, they also support;

Abortion Rights

Environmentalism

Gun Control

Federalizing Education

Socialized Healthcare

Public Art

ReducingÂ Ethnic Disparities

Bloomberg has also been accused of using his charitable work to influence his political aspirations;

Critics of Bloomberg argue that he has long used his personal wealth to buy political support. For instance, the Financial Times wrote that Bloomberg’s political contributions had freed him to pursue his chosen reforms in the city using it as a laboratory for testing ideas inspired by or subsequently influencing his philanthropy. Items included in this list were tough antismoking rules and a ban on trans-fats in food.

The liberal in me is glad to see PTH taking courses that may make him become more progressive, but I wonder if the public is aware of what kind of organization he is tying the city to? Sometimes I wonder if he is aware?

SF City Council Sioux Falls

When is the city hiring a new internal auditor? (H/T-CMBD)

l3wis April 9, 2019 0Comments

Floodplain Floods Sioux Falls

What’s going on with the Flood Recovery Fund?

l3wis April 8, 2019 14Comments

Have donations to the “Flood Recovery Fund” (set up by the City of Sioux Falls) been distributed yet?

Mayor TenHaken said $7,500 had been received, and that was VERY early on . . . perhaps within hours of it being announced. That’s the only quantifier I’ve seen about how much money came in.

The Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation has been designated as the collecting agency for the donations. While I’ve never requested any grant, etc. from this group, I know some people who have had other dealings with them, and were not happy with the results. Their board, donors & honorees are quite the “who’s who” of Sioux Falls – a real mutual admiration society, if you will.

I believe the SFACF has a $140 million dollar war chest (most of it liquid investments) which – in spite of their very nice ongoing charitable grants, scholarships & monetary awards – grows every year via donations & their investments.

Given the tremendous existing multi-million dollar donations this organization already has on hand, I question why they have been designated to receive and disperse these donated Flood Recovery funds. . . . as opposed to the Red Cross, another existing disaster relief organization, or even some municipal equivalent of a Go Fund Me page, for example.

I believe the citizens who donate to this Flood Recovery Fund deserve confirmation that 100% of the donations received are dispersed to deserving recipients, and that no portion of these donations get absorbed back into one or more of the SFACF fund accounts.

Will we ever know?

Does it pay to be on the NSP Energy board?

West River math VS. East River math

Is Mayor TenHaken secretly training to become a Liberal?

When is the city hiring a new internal auditor? (H/T-CMBD)

What’s going on with the Flood Recovery Fund?

You Missed

Sioux Falls City Council violated so many rules tonight it was ALMOST comical, but I am NOT laughing

Rhoden and Jackley apparently don’t know what the 1st Amendment is

UPDATE: Sioux Falls Citizen Survey results down in almost every category since 2021

Trump to Ban Androgynous names