This is clearly the job of the city council NOT the mayor’s office;
Paying cash instead of borrowing for Sioux Falls’ next fire station, replacing the ski lift at Great Bear and repairing more roads are priorities for the mayor’s office as it looks to spend some leftover dollars from last year’s budget.
Mayor Paul TenHaken told the Argus Leader on Monday that he’ll ask the City Council to expedite several infrastructure projects using nearly $6.2 million in capital surplus funds while setting aside another $1.7 million in City Hall’s rainy-day fund.
Sure, his department heads should put together a list of needs, but that list should have been handed off to the council to make the decision in a work session. The rumor going around is that 3 of the RS5 met quietly with the mayor to concoct this proposal, and the others were blindsided by this.
When is this city (current mayor and council and past administrations) going to realize the separation of powers? It’s the mayor’s job to manage the city and abide by the rules and expenditures set forth by the council with guidance from department heads. If the mayor is going to do both jobs – why even have a council? Why not just declare him King so we can all do other things on Tuesday nights?