I agree with Joe that there is a lack of leadership, experience, accountability, common sense and diligence;
That kind of leadership requires listening, relationship-building, and the willingness to work together. It means re-establishing trust among institutions that have drifted apart and reminding everyone that Sioux Falls’ success has always come from collaboration, not isolation.
Many of these leadership issues can be solved with one word; TRANSPARENCY. When you have a government that is open to the public’s ideas by bringing them along with the process you get more involvement and when the public is more involved you have a better planned community. The problem with local government on all levels isn’t a lack of leadership or even laziness it’s a lack of openness and accountability. You could have 9 monkeys sitting on the dais and the city would still run incredibly well because of transparency. I am of the position that it doesn’t matter who is on that dais, as another realtor announces a run for council today, if we have folks that are willing to open the books and bring the public along that is ALL the leadership you need. Because real leaders are honest, open and accountable.
THE SOLUTION TO THE TRANSIENT PROBLEM IS RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOUR EYES
After reading this article last night about transients at the downtown library I sent this email to Jodi;
I am putting an invitation to you and a companion to ride on the back of my pedi-cab on a weeknight DTSF after dark, I will take you to all the places transients congregate and you can see just how serious it is.
But what I found fascinating about the article is Police Chief Thum offering a solution to the problem without realizing it;
My point is not to lack compassion for those who probably could benefit from a quiet, safe place to spend their day. Ideally, we’d find something more productive for people to do in such a place — maybe we offer classes or even the chance to create art — but if safe shelter with a way to charge a phone is really all people are looking for, maybe we need to create that somewhere other than the library.
We need the library to function as it was intended to promote literacy and access to information and related resources, not as a social services agency.
At the top of the post I talked about common sense in government. Are you listening to what you are saying? Maybe we need a temporary shelter? It is pretty obvious to me that we need a temporary shelter this winter for these folks where they can stay 24/7 if they wish. Will it cost money? Sure, but the alternative is paying for ER visits when we are scraping them from the cold concrete in a parking ramp which costs way more then just funding a facility for the winter months. I would also hand every single one of them a bus ticket when they arrive at the shelter if they desire to go home.
This is what I mean when it comes to leadership. You obviously see the issue, you also obviously see the solution, so why not fix it?
IF I can get elected to the Central District, I have said I would push to create a Public Office called “Government Financial Transparency, to be housed in City Hall, staffed with at minimum, 3 appointed, non-paid officers with the delegated duties of nothing but auditing, reviewing, and investigating every dollar worth of public taxes coming in, and every $1 dollar going out in expenses, with the goal of locating places where we can cut the government budget by no less than 20%. I would also push to move Public Input before “New Business” so the incentive for the council is to discuss any of the topics that come up during public comment, let alone, try to create further dialogue between the council and the citizens. I am also working with some in the legislature to amend state law, making it a requirement that the City Attorney Office has to publish all legal opinions on its website, just as the Attorney General has to do at the state level, this will allow the citizens to review the legal opinions of the city attorney, in order to help understand how the city government is interpretation, and utilizing the state laws, city charter, in relation to city ordinances.
– Mike Zitterich For Honest Government
Government has become like business. It’s ripe with greed and corruption. Wasn’t always this way. Leaders made themselves answer to the public. There was no need for transparency because everything was apparent. There needs to be restoration of checks and balances. The president was once an example. After he escaped from legal ramifications and constitutional adherence, we became autocracy ruled by a narcissist fascist. Other than a revolution or coup, there’s no return. Restoration of democracy might start locally. The city charter is obviously unconstitutional. It gives the mayor power like the president without there being a way to counter the lawlessness, deceit, and fraud. The city three quarter billion budget is preposterous. Why is there not a competitive bid process with council but not mayoral vote?
Progressive Paulie pushed through the massive rebranding initiative of “One Sioux Falls” intending to signify a framework in which many government, NGOs and non-profit organizations were united in a commitment to a set of common “priorities that guide the city’s commitment to strategic community growth, …”
The main theme of recent political contests for elected representation to city government (Mayor and City Council positions) contained prominent mention of the political buzzwords, “collaboration” and “collaborative”.
Isn’t it ironic that despite the two statements noted above that Joe found cause to indicate that the City is no longer collaborative in thought, nor action and no longer speaks with a uniform voice.
One Sioux Falls has been merely marketing sizzle with no meat (no commitment to forming a uniform set of priorities and gaining buy-in from the stakeholders of “One Sioux Falls”).
The lack of a single voice is one of the things that happens when one party in the field of stakeholders (City of Sioux Falls) unilaterally gives away property tax revenue (in the form of TIF gifts) which would otherwise be collected by other stakeholders (Minnehaha County and the various school districts in the local area) … all in the interest of burnishing collection of sales taxes to the City (which the other parties go without) and to fill the pockets of select few individuals lauded by the chamber cronies as “visionaries” – “visionaries” whose excercise of “vision” is limited to “Vision Using Other People’s Money” .
And, yes. Lack of a common voice and lack of collaboration among stakeholders are each the result of an insular City government which lacks transparency.
Can’t have the same voice when the hymnal either isn’t provided to you or only provided to you the time at which your support and vote are needed.