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Dean Karsky

Dean Karsky SF City Council Sioux Falls

Did Sioux Falls City Councilor Dean Karsky violate state election & city executive orders?

l3wis 8Comments

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrXw9UaBjJE[/youtube]

I’m not sure how many times we have to remind these people about spending tax dollars on campaigning is clearly against the law. Apparently, councilor Karsky not only doesn’t understand this, he has the host of Inside Townhall script his announcement for running for County Commission.

Didn’t anyone at CityLink scratch their heads a little about this . . . oh wait.

Universal Citation: SD Codified L § 12-27-20 (through 2012)

12-27-20. Expenditure of public funds to influence election outcome prohibited. The state, an agency of the state, and the governing body of a county, municipality, or other political subdivision of the state may not expend or permit the expenditure of public funds for the purpose of influencing the nomination or election of any candidate, or for the petitioning of a ballot question on the ballot or the adoption or defeat of any ballot question. This section may not be construed to limit the freedom of speech of any officer or employee of the state or such political subdivisions in his or her personal capacity. This section does not prohibit the state, its agencies, or the governing body of any political subdivision of the state from presenting factual information solely for the purpose of educating the voters on a ballot question.

Source: SL 2007, ch 80, § 20.

 

Our ever eager to please anyone but citizens councilman Dean “Karksy” Karsky used the publicly owned and controlled studios of city of Sioux Falls CityLink to make his announcement he is running for a seat on Minnehaha County Commission.

Doesn’t he understand anything about state and federal laws governing the use of taxpayer resources to further his political future? Can you imagine him on the County Commission being able to find loopholes in to further self interests?

In 2014, didn’t Bruce Danielson of Citizens for Integrity file ethics violations against Mayor Huether for violating city of Sioux falls rules concerning his use of city resources and meeting to further his reelection as mayor? We are shaking our collective heads and deciding what’s good for the mayor Huether is good enough to violate as council members?

As a side note, no candidate for office can appear on city media until after the election per Mayor Munson’s Executive order still in effect.

Dean Karsky Project TRIM Rick Kiley SF City Council Sioux Falls

Sioux Falls City Councilors Karsky & Kiley approve of inefficiency and poor customer service in city government

l3wis 6Comments

During the December edition of ‘Inside Town Hall’ four city councilors had a discussion about Project TRIM (Or as we call it Project Tree Tax). Councilor Staggers of course believes like many cities throughout the Midwest (Brandon, Brookings & Kansas City for example) that the city of Sioux Falls should trim the trees in the boulevard. As a Brandon city councilor brought up in a joint meeting with SF city councilors, “It’s just more efficient and accurate.” then policing homeowners to do it. Councilor Erickson believes the way the city goes about policing the policy is cumbersome and could use improvement.

But councilors Karsky and Kiley think it works just fine (mailing out vague letters about the trees that need to be trimmed, sending out city employees to tag those properties but not identify the actual branches). Kiley goes on to say that it would cost to much for the city to trim the trees. That statement in itself is ridiculous. As the Brandon city councilor pointed out, they discovered it was cheaper to contract out a licensed arborist to just go out and trim those trees then to go through the ridiculous process of paying city employees to drive around and tag properties then send out letters when the time could be better spent at just trimming the violating trees to begin with. Then there is the matter of the adjoining property owners not owning those trees anyway because they sit on city property.

No surprise to me that Kiley and Karsky would find the process A’ OK as is.

Dean Karsky SF City Council Sioux Falls

UPDATE: Apparently Sioux Falls City Councilor Karsky won a CMA award?

l3wis 7Comments

UPDATE: As I suspected, the tickets for the CMA’s were bought privately by the Erickson’s and no taxpayer expense. Just to clarify.

Foolish me, I thought outgoing councilor Karsky was going on his last junket to the National League of Cities conference in Nashville to learn more about municipal government that he could share over the last 5 months of his term. It was all a ploy to receive his CMA. (snark)

Notice the conference started on Wednesday, but the councilors needed to move this week’s meeting to Monday so they could go to the conference on Tuesday. But Tuesday night they took in the CMA’s.

Our tax dollars hard at work! Now if we can just get them to unlock the doors at the Huether Family tennis center.

cma-karsky

beer Beer Summit Christine Erickson Dean Karsky SF City Council Sioux Falls

Another Karsky suggestion . . .

l3wis 7Comments

huetherville-lr

While Dean doesn’t care who puts shingles on your roof, he seems to be very concerned about who is drinking malt liquor;

Karsky said Sioux Falls law enforcement is overburdened with alcohol related problems, and the calls that come in tend to cluster in specific areas of the city – downtown and the Whittier and Pettigrew Heights neighborhoods. “Alcohol-impact areas” – places where alcohol-nuisance calls are most frequent – could be established with more restrictive booze rules, Karsky said.

Dean, we tried this thing called ‘Prohibition’ it didn’t work out so well. Did you take American History in High School? Did you go to High School? Alcoholism is a disease, they will find a way to get a drink, you are not going to fix anything.

What I want to know is what yahoo on the chamber made you be the poster boy of this idea? They owe you a drink . . . that is at least 40 ounces.

Erickson says it best;

City Councilor Christine Erickson said she’s open to discussing the alcohol rules on the books in Sioux Falls, but questioned whether banning single sales in select areas of the city would significantly reduce the number of alcohol nuisance complaints. She’s concerned also about the unintended consequences of alcohol impact areas.

“I understand the reasoning behind it. My concern is, too, are they going to get in the car and drive somewhere else to get it? Now we would just be encouraging them to get behind the wheel,” she said.

Erickson said a ban in specific areas of town wouldn’t alleviate the problem, only move it, similar to what happened when the council banned alcohol from Van Eps and Tower parks.

“It’s kicking the can down the road again. That was my concern when we banned the alcohol at Van Eps as well. We weren’t really fixing anything – just telling them to go back into the neighborhoods,” she said.

Besides her great points, I also would like to point out that I think product designations are up to the state and maybe the county. Don’t know, but I think the City of Sioux Falls learned the hard way about trying to limit video lottery. They lost in SD Supreme Court. They seem to be very good at that.

Dean Karsky Minnehaha County

UPDATE: Who will apply to be on the Minnehaha County Commission

l3wis 6Comments

UPDATE: Yesterday the commission decided they will be accepting applications and resumes until December 31 for the appointment job. There was some discussion on whether they should appoint a ‘caretaker’ or basically a ‘seat warmer’. This of course was Dick Kelly’s idea, and Cindy pretty much said that was a bad idea, and they should appoint someone who is prepared to do the job in the fullest for the next two years, and if they want to run again, that would be fine.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4It5tf-y5Uo[/youtube]

I found out yesterday that Dean Karsky has withdrawn his name and said he is NOT seeking the appointment, but expressed interest in running for the seat in two years when he is term limited from the city council.

Mark Millage has also told me that he is not interested in the appointment either.

I’m not sure who the ‘ten’ people are, but it should be interesting when those names are released.

In other County news, it seems that the commission is backing out on their set of rules for picking an election review commission. The names I have heard so far are either elected officials, past elected officials or public employees. Bad idea. This commission should be citizen driven, NO elected officials, NO public employees and NO past officials BIAS to the process. Looks like another Kangaroo court.

I also have some other inside information about the formation of the commission that I will share AFTER the appointments. Let’s just say the cattle wrangling has already begun.

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