County Commission

Pam Nelson gives credit, where credit is due; King Rounds

l3wis October 13, 2008 0Comments

Nelson slams Mike Rounds for his incompetence on the licensing software. What I found interesting about the story was that the Argus Leader buried the story on page 7B in the dead tree version, and online, you had to do an actual search for the story because there was no links on the main page. Interesting.

She called out Mikey a couple of times;

As a county elected leader, I refuse to let Gov. Mike Rounds and the Legislature escape their fiscal responsibility to pay for the expenses their actions have caused by implementing this sluggish system. What remains to be answered honestly to taxpayers is whether Rounds’ Revenue Department employees were aware on July 1 that their online system was as incompetent and costly to implement as it has proven to be. So far I haven’t heard any straight answers, but I’ve seen quite a lot of buck passing.

AND

But I do ask that you hold your local legislators and the governor accountable for paying the tab for their mistakes. It’s your time and money. The buck stops in Pierre.

I also found this tidbit of information interesting, not only do we have to stand in long lines and waste our time, they also found a way to nail us on penalties, then keep the money in Pierre instead of giving it to the counties;

There is a fiscal benefit for Pierre, however, that you might not be aware of. The new online system allows the state to instantly track penalties and interest money assessed for people who fail to transfer titles within the state maximum timeline. In Minnehaha County alone, the state received $11,078 in July and another $14,763 in August that it would not have received without this new system.

I think this revenue needs to return here to help pay for our county’s increased costs. It’s only fair.

I applaud Pam for standing up to our Governor, I think he has gotten a little big for his britches.