The one thing PTH has NOT kept secret; his total disregard for open and transparent government.
You would think after the failures of the bunker ramp due to the lack of financial transparency they would have learned something. Nope;
The city won’t say if or how many developers have expressed interest in buying or leasing the unfinished downtown parking ramp on 10th Street.
“Ultimately, this is how we set up the process,” said Dustin Powers, community development coordinator for the city.
Dustin, just who is this ‘WE’ you speak of? It certainly wasn’t the public that requested this process, or the legislative body, the city council. Maybe it was the mayor’s COS, who is a former executive for one of the largest developers in the city and state. Her former employer has ‘mysteriously’ received millions in tax breaks, land deals, TIFs, etc. since she was appointed. Are they on the short list? We will never know.
It’ll be a lot of behind-the-scenes work until the city chooses a potential buyer/lessee and makes that information public.
Yup. And once again we have learned nothing about the benefits of open government.
11 comments ↓
Of Course our open guberment, transpr-rent mayor’s total disregard for open and transparent government is because when he ignores it, he can make a lot of money for himself and benefactors. He is bought and paid for to have the job he has been given. The ignorant slobs who voted for him because of his party affiliation or his tall skinny looks or his fake Dutch”Christian values” garbage he constantly spews.
Can’t wait for mayor selfie’s term to end.
TenHaken inherited Huether arrogance. There are many unrealistic actions to try and explain. The parking tower is the worst. There’s no transparency at city hall in general. It stays this way. Major unnecessary projects happen out of thin air without a public vote. This is Mafia methods except it’s legal. TenHaken can only work in circles. Mayor is a status symbol. There’s no progress. Only BS.
How about try to demolish the parking tower. Do it so it sits crooked like as for the Zip Feed Mill. We need something hilarious and there would be national sarcasm.
Call it ‘The Leaning Huether Monument’.
How can I get to know NY Senator DeSantis? A good lier makes a good wingman at single bars.
State law governs over contractual issues, if you have an issue with the Mayor not disclosing proposed developers who are putting in applications, you have to change state law that prohibit private information from being released. The City is only obligated to present the final product here. So as they sit down and negociate the contract, the basis of that negocation is left confidential. YOU would have to amend the CHARTER to bring this activity into the open, or make clear, a rule package that at all applicants must be known, or presented on the city’s website. BUT — even if we made that rule, we SDCL 1-26 to abide by.
STATE law and although I have not read the specific ordinance, I will assume SF’s charter, allow contractual and legal negotiations and personnel issues to be discussed in closed meetings. Just sayin’.
Mike and Ruf are correct, but state law is also very clear that it is up to the municipality on how OPEN they want to be. Just sayin’.
The mayor is very transparent when a camera is around.
so transparent you can see almost thru him.
Citizens want transparency. City officials would like to consider themselves translucent. Realistically, the situation is opaque. Why must there be city government when they won’t let you see them and they lost sight of you. I say again, one government that’s both city and county. The county sees because they have vision.
The County really does not have a government as such as the City does, it is not centralized as the City of Sioux Falls.
The people elect “Commissioners” to adopt resolutions, and ordinances, in order to direct the County Elected, Appointed, and Hired Officials of the “administration”.
The Administration is simply ‘agents’ of the State Departments – Treasury, Secretary of State, Department of Health, the Attorney General’s Office.
The Commissioners are tasked with adopting rules and codes in to fill those ‘public offices’ of whom really must follow State Statutes, Regulations to administer the statewide programs, services, of the state.
The County does not have authority to raise taxes, it collects the ‘taxes’ created by the Legislature, while it apportions them across the county, the municipalities, and back to the State Treasury, while it has the right to keep a small portion to maintain public roads, bridges, utilities within the county itself.
It is how ‘we’ elected to operate the State from the beginning.
Think about the County Appropriation Budget – it all derives from Property Taxes, Motor Vehicle Funds, Utility Fees, Other Fees they are asked to collect. Show me one ‘county tax’ created by the county itself, there is none. They hold a small portion of the revenues collected to operate the “Administration”.
The Counties are broken down in: Court Houses-Jail Houses, Administration, and Health and Human Services.
Anytime commissioners vote for an opt-out it is a vote to raise my taxes. While NOT a new tax, it is an increase approved by them.