South DaCola

Editorial Cartoonist from South Dakota

2020

Elections SF City Council Sioux Falls

UPDATE: Big News coming next week for the Sioux Falls City Council Race?

l3wis 5Comments

UPDATE: I got word today, that I may have jumped the gun on this. There may not be any surprise announcements next week. While it is still a possibility, there are some other things going on behind the scenes that need to be situated before the announcements can be made. Stay tuned.

I’m getting word today there will be some ‘major’ announcements next week when it comes to the city council races. Candidates could pickup petitions starting today and have until February 28 to turn them in.

I’m keeping quiet about some of the rumors I have heard because this all could change by next week and at this point it is all pretty fluid. But let’s just say, some will be pleasantly surprised, and some will be crapping their drawers.

SF City Council SFPD Sioux Falls

Sioux Falls City Councilors Erickson & Neitzert do something right for once

l3wis 0Comments

They will be proposing an ordinance for $300K for overtime pay to the police for special events (Item #27 – 1st Reading);

Section 2. That the use of the unobligated fund balance of $300,000 for the 2020 Police budget is authorized for expenditure of overtime pay for special events in the city of Sioux Falls, SD.

This of course is a one-time appropriation for 2020. They will be forming a taskforce to figure out what to do in the future which should have been done to begin with instead of the Mayor’s office pulling this from their rears.

SFPD Sioux Falls T.J. Nelson

City of Sioux Falls 2020 Salaries

l3wis 6Comments

I am still crunching the numbers, but what I have found so far is that the most surprising raise was $10K to Mayor Paul TenHaken’s Deputy Chief of Staff, T.J. Typover Nelson. How on earth could this little partisan hack deserve such a raise? Simple, he is Mayor Paul TenHaken’s little schemer.

Shucking and jiving transparency at every corner.

Number two in this fiasco is a $12K year raise to a guy in charge of our growing crime rate, understaffed police force, super low morale and a general sense that we really don’t even have a police chief, Matt Burns. Why you would reward someone with such a raise who has been such a dismal failure is beyond me.

I can’t say much about the highest raise, sucky job, could make more in the private sector, and I don’t have a MD, so I will just stay out of that.

Here’s some link’s to salaries since 2011;

2020 – 2019 – 2018 – 2017 – 2016 – 2011 to 2015

SF School District Sioux Falls

Sioux Falls School District Boundary Task Force Meeting II: 1-29-20

l3wis 2Comments

There was some interesting things discussed in the meeting. You get the feeling that some ‘segregation’ is still being pushed by SFSD administrators with some push back from task force members. I don’t have children, so maybe I am missing something and could be way off kilter in my assessment, but similar to the bond task force, it seems the administrators have a predetermined result and are trying to mold the task force into that direction.

I had to laugh at the first meeting when Super Maher said decisions are not being made behind closed doors. If you have to state that disclaimer in public, it makes you a bit suspicious. I’m surprised he didn’t say that he makes ‘perfect’ phone calls . . .

Watch it yourself and you be the judge.

SF City Council Sioux Falls Sioux Falls Parks and Rec Theresa Stehly

Stehly brings up costs of other ‘Quality of Life’ Projects in comparison to Project TRIM

l3wis 13Comments

During the Informational meeting yesterday, Stehly thanked the Parks Department for doing the Project TRIM experiment. She also brought up other things we subsidize each year. She said that the money could easily be budgeted for the city to trim their own trees in the boulevard.

There was also a discussion about the golf contract with Landscapes Unlimited and how they want to amend the contract so they can possibly provide management for Brandon’s Municipal Course (which I think is a conflict). They cleverly claim that people who will work at the Sioux Falls city courses won’t work at the Brandon course, yet what they fail to mention is that LU is a corporation with multiple management locations all over the United States. Corporate headquarters knows exactly what is going on at both locations simultaneously. They also talked about ‘opportunities’ between the two locations. I’m not sure how people paying to golf at Brandon’s course is an ‘opportunity’ for the taxpayers of Sioux Falls. I have often said we should just have a flat lease for the courses and let the contractor do as they please, and maintain them at their expense. This would be more beneficial to taxpayers, and would eliminate any contract conflicts.

There has also NOT been any determination on how the golf cart shed fire started. During the contract discussion, LU admitted they received $100K from insurance for lost carts, etc. When the Director of Parks, Ding-Dong Don was asked how much the city got from insurance for the destruction of the facility, he responded that they have received nothing yet. When asked why, he said it is because they haven’t figured out yet how they are going to replace the facility (stand alone or along with a new clubhouse). Sorry, but a damaged building value has NOTHING to do with what the new facility will cost. I find this very odd, and wonder if a determination on the cause of the fire will ever be revealed. Of course, this is coming from the same guy who lied about no-mow zones (and various other crap). Can we impeach him?

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