The Darkness at City Hall was taken to a whole new level this week when the city said this about denying Forum News a copy of the contract with the Link;
The City of Sioux Falls has denied a request to make public the contract to operate The Link, the publicly funded triage center for people in crisis from addiction or mental illness.
Sioux Falls Live requested the contract from the city on July 17. The city denied that request on Monday, July 31.
The reason given for the denial is that the contract is not technically with the city, but rather with the non-profit created to run The Link, according to Paul M. Bengford, senior assistant city attorney.
“The City of Sioux Falls is not a party to the Agreement you are seeking,” Bengford wrote in a statement denying the request.
WOW!
‘Yeah, you know, that building the city owns and leases for FREE to the Link and helps subsidize with city and county taxpayer money, yeah, we really don’t know much about that.’
The Link was setup BY the city and county, it is occupied in a city owned building. If anyone would have the contract and know what is in it, it would be the city.
Oh, and to state the obvious;
“The Link is an important community resource, and there’s interest in knowing how it’s operating,” said Mary Jo Hotzler, chief content officer for Forum Communications Co., parent company to Sioux Falls Live. “Our interest is in transparency and accountability.”
Heck, I can’t even get an annual report from a non-profit that provides free concerts, what makes you think you get this contract? Maybe there is no contract;
During a city council meeting in July, which included approval of a new three-year agreement between the partners, TenHaken said the source of new funding was “TBD.”
It kind of sounds like most things the city does . . . by the seat of their pants. Recently it was said that the city is looking for a recruiting contractor to help find more mid-management, skilled positions. Maybe the city is having problems finding these people because no one wants to work for a certain somebody. I’ve seen morale take a 180 at places I have worked after certain troublesome management is let go. Maybe the city has an image problem?
I tell people it must be a great place to work, I saw a mid-manager at a meeting a couple of months ago wearing sweatpants and sliders, surprised he wasn’t curled up in the corner with a pillow and a blankey.
With all this darkness lately, it makes you wonder if this is about keeping information from the public or keeping information from a higher authority, and I ain’t talking about JC.
It’s what they call the missing link….. AND, wasn’t it Cash who initially coined the phrase “…. three buses from Fargo”, or should have?….. Because sometimes around here fiction is promoted while the truth is hid, like three buses from Fargo, whose journey never makes it and whose reality is never known….. AND, I believe we have a Bunker Ramp, too, that plays that same tune.
( and Woodstock adds: “Cash might ‘….hear the train a comin’….’, but that’s not the high speed train to Brandon, is it?”…. 🙂 )