Ethics

Gee I wonder why?

Interesting;

The city’s Board of Ethics has postponed its meeting scheduled for today at 3:30 p.m. in the first floor Commission Room at City Hall. The new date hasn’t been determined.

I wonder if it has anything to do with Kermit requesting a written apology from the board? The city attorney told Kermit he wouldn’t get it until after January 1st because of the ‘holidays’. I guess the easiest way to avoid the letter is to postpone a meeting in which it would certainly be a topic.

Open meetings commission advises reprimand of SF Ethics Board

KSFY Screenshot

This of course after the City Attorney advised the same in his testimony today in front of the commission. The city of course blamed Shawn Tornow for bad counsel to the Board and claimed the Board acted in good faith from his counsel. Of course it’s easy to blame a former city employee who is ‘no longer employed by the city’.

Staggers wanted individual reprimands of each board member AND the dates of the private meetings. He got neither request.

UPDATE:

ARGUS LEADER

KELO & KELO Part II

KSFY

Here is a detailed PDF of Kermit’s testimony and city correspondence;

staggersethics


Vernon Brown to the rescue of Staggers?

Image: KELO-TV screenshot

Is Vernon defending Kermit over the bogus ethics investigation because he feels Kermit was wronged? Or is afraid it may be his hide next? Makes you wonder if the ethics committee was trying to dig up dirt on Vernon to?

Staggers is concerned that the investigation went beyond the scope of the original complaint. Something that also concerns city councilman Vernon Brown.

“Probably, the most disturbing part for us is the complaint was filed but the investigation went beyond what the complaint was,” Brown said.

And let’s hear the bullshit response . . .

Mike McKnight, the chair of the Board of Ethics, says local laws give them the ability to go where the evidence takes them, and if any changes were made to that part of the law, it would limit their work.

LMAO! You mean the same ‘unconstitutional’ laws that tell people when they are in violation of city code? A city can’t just make up laws that are in violation of the US Constitution and the State Constitution and then use those bogus laws to assert power. Kermit nails it with this comment;

“In making it public then they’re going to be held accountable. When you have a situation where things are done in secret, accountability goes by the wayside,” Staggers said.

The Sioux Falls Board of Ethics doesn’t want us to think (or know) that they are A-Holes?

The ethics board chief advisors

I am amazed that in such a small town that we have such huge egos and arrogance by the few in power;

The Sioux Falls City Council wants to make the ethics complaint process more public and give the Board of Ethics less authority to impose penalties as it works to amend city law.

Right now, the board has the authority to impose several penalties on city officials or employees if they are found to be in the wrong.

The penalties include a reprimand, suspension or removal from office or a fine.

“They serve as the prosecutor and the judge at the same time,” Councilor Kenny Anderson Jr. said Monday at the council’s Public Service Committee meeting.

Oh, but wait, even though Kenny is right, and it is LEGAL, the boo-hoo ethics board doesn’t want you to think it is all their fault.

Chairman Michael McKnight said the board simply was following the city ordinance.

We are the favorite whipping boy. What can we say? There’s not much we can say about the specific incident because the process is confidential,” McKnight said.

That is just it. Instead of just responding to the one complaint about the city employee addresses they went on a ‘fishing expedition’ and tried to find other ethics violations against Dr. Staggers. This WAS political, and it so f’ing obvious that heads should role. I mean, C’mon, these people are volunteers, boot their asses. The job of a GOOD and FAIR ethics board is to look into complaints and make recommendations. That’s it. Seems pretty simple to me. Instead, they have the city attorney’s office and their TOADS digging up empty graves like no tomorrow.

Huether and the council need to remove everyone from the ethics board and city attorney’s office and start fresh.