Mayor Subprime Mike Huether

economy Mayor Subprime Mike Huether Mike Huether Sioux Falls Taxes

At least Mayor Mike is being ‘somewhat’ realistic

l3wis May 27, 2010 16Comments

No surprise, sales tax revenues are still down in Sioux Falls. If you think we are just going to ‘POP’ out of this recession by simply ‘SAYING’ things are getting better, you are crazy. I actually think things are getting worse and we have not bottomed out yet in Sioux Falls, and it is refreshing to see that our new mayor understands at least one thing that is going on in our city and country;

But, numbers released Thursday show that the sales tax numbers have now dropped one percent compared to last year at this time.Â Mayor Mike Huether says he was not surprised by the seven point swing, saying the economy hasn’t fully turned around yet.

“I think that those are more realistic. The economy in no way has recovered completely,” Huether said.

And Huether says the new numbers prove that the city needs to keep spending under control and do even more this year to cut the budget.

“We will scrutinize the spending habits of city government even more,” Huether said.

While I agree cuts should be made, we must also have a one year break from special interest spending. I guess I don’t agree with cutting customer service to citizens when we are not cutting special interests. If we want to cut back on the Parks budget, which is beneficial to everyone, then we need to stop giving the Zoo money for monkey hot tubs. Citizen services should come first, and foremost. Trust me, I believe that Mike wants to trim the city budget, but if he cuts services for the sake of indoor pools and hockey rinks, he’ll hear about it, and not just from me. Remember Mike, you can’t have your cake and eat it to. Munson thought that was the case. You have to make a decision; Citizens or Special interests.

Mayor Subprime Mike Huether Mike Huether SF City Council Sioux Falls

Want to address public officials about your concerns? Do it on the record.

l3wis May 25, 2010 8Comments

This is the best place to go if you have a gripe about the city.

I have often told friends and associates that if you have a problem or concern about our city, show up to the 7 PM council meetings Monday nights at Carnegie Hall, downtown Sioux Falls. There is a 5 minute ‘gripe’ period before the meeting starts. And while most councilors or even the mayor may not say much, the importance is that your testimony is on record. Meeting with politicians privately usually solves nothing, heck meeting with them publicly doesn’t seem to do much either. But if you have a concern, it is best to let all of the public know and have them as your witness.

Why do I bring this up? A friend called the mayor’s office today to set up a meeting with him to discuss some of her concerns about the city and moving forward in a new administration. The secretary informed her that Mike will not being meeting with anyone from the public privately until after he has FINISHED the 2011 budget, which is August 1. But she was encouraged to go to Whisk and Chop on Saturdays (where Mike is surrounded by mostly his staff) and air her concerns.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Mayor Subprime Mike Huether Mike Huether

Hey, Mayor Mike, It’s time to get over yourself

l3wis May 23, 2010 8Comments

In a story about our mayoral election process in Sioux Falls, Huether couldn’t resist to get in one more dig about how people were mean to him in the final days of the campaign?

But Huether disagrees. The campaign dragged on long enough and probably led to voter fatigue, he says. And in the runoff, “the last two weeks weren’t fun because of some of the tactics used.”

While people have hammered me about being nicer to Mike and to get over my ‘sour grapes’ I find it astounding that a guy who won is still crying about things people said about him.

Let’s clear something up Mike. YOU WON! And you won because you hired a professional bad ass campaigner to run your campaign, and you spent a gob of money. Partisanship, gays, abortion, short bald men and big mouths like me, Tracy and Ches had nothing to do with it.

I opposed you for a number of reasons, and 90% of them were funny shit that no one cares about (like your campaign colors being totally awful.) The main reason I opposed you is simple; You became a millionaire on the backs of poor people who have no understanding of finances and credit cards, all the while telling people you came from where they came from. Trust me, if First Premier would have came knocking on your mom’s door, she would have taken it, and you know it. Maybe that was your advantage as marketing VP of FP Bankcard, you knew how to sucker your own kind.

So please, if you want to be an effective mayor, stop worrying about your image, your hair and your precious daughter, and start worrying about us, the ones who fund your four year (hopefully) adventure.

1st Amendment Mayor Subprime Mike Huether Mike Huether Sioux Falls

Mayor Huether; Only transparent when it is convenient?

l3wis May 21, 2010 18Comments

Let’s go for a kayak ride Mike

Oh trust me, Mike isn’t the only politician guilty of this practice. Most politicians LOVE transparent government, when it benefits their agenda. Like I said a few days ago and throughout the mayoral campaign, TRANSPARENCY will be a tough concept for Mike to embrace, simply because he worked in such a secretive industry;

But it’s quite another thing to have quasi-official, unnamed transition team members whom you regularly consult to help you decide who fills those positions.

That’s exactly what it seems like Huether is doing, and it’s starting his tenure at City Hall off on the wrong foot.

Here’s where the ED Board (in all of their great knowledge) doesn’t get it. I don’t think Mike understands the entire concept of OPEN GOVERNMENT. I’m not saying he is stupid, just ignorant to what it means.

The new mayor has said he’s protecting those advisers from taking heat for their suggestions.

I can understand this concept in the corporate world, but not in the public sector. The taxpayer’s of this city are your board of directors and we have a right to know what kind of marketing schemes you are cooking up for this great city, and we have a right to the cook’s names and their recipes.

No one is helped by this lack of transparency, and Huether actually is undermining his own position by unnecessarily breeding suspicion that there’s something to hide.

This is where I disagree with the ED Board. Mike doesn’t think he is breeding suspicion, because this is how they operated in private industry, something he said he would bring to government (something I thought was a bad idea all along because private industry doesn’t have to deal with that pesky US Constitution).

Now that Huether is mayor, everything he does that affects the city ought to be as open and transparent as possible, and that includes the identities of the people on his transition team.

Making their names public would be a step in the right direction.

This was a guy who wigged out when the Gargoyle Leader published the name of his campaign consultant, do you really think he will give you the names of his transition team? Good luck with that. But you would think that at least one member would have enough integrity to reveal themselves . . .

Mayor Subprime Mike Huether Sioux Falls Vernon Brown

Only two days into Mayor Subprime’s administration and barbs are already being thrown

l3wis May 19, 2010 14Comments

The original story was about recent shakeups at City Hall, including replacing the City Attorney (Maybe Todd Epp will apply, heard he needs a job 🙂 But the story ends with a little tit-for-tat between Mike and Vernon;

Councilor Vernon Brown, who ran against Huether for mayor, said time will tell.

“It’s too soon to tell on how the communication will go,” he said.

Brown is more concerned about the secrecy of Huether’s transition team.

On Monday, Huether said he would not name the group of people who are helping him choose directors because personnel matters are a confidential process.

“I really would encourage him to let the voters know who’s advising him. I think a transition team is very important and should be open and transparent,” Brown said.

Brown said he also has heard from residents who were concerned about Huether not revealing the names.

“I don’t expect there were a lot of citizens who were concerned. I suspect the person who was concerned was Mr. Brown,” Huether said.

This pains me, but I have a feeling I will be siding with Vernon quite a bit in the coming days. Trust me Mike, many citizens and people in the media are concerned about you not being transparent about your transition team, when you are promising transparency. You can’t have it both ways. Munson understood that, and simply just withheld information from the public. Keep talking out of both sides of your mouth and find out where it gets you.

Rumor has it that former city planner, Steve Metli is one of the members of the transition team, no wonder he wants to keep it a secret. If this is true, I find it ironic that a mayor that preaches change would bring in someone from the OLD GUARD.

At least Mayor Mike is being ‘somewhat’ realistic

Want to address public officials about your concerns? Do it on the record.

Hey, Mayor Mike, It’s time to get over yourself

Mayor Huether; Only transparent when it is convenient?

Only two days into Mayor Subprime’s administration and barbs are already being thrown

You Missed

UPDATE: Sioux Falls City Councilor could be facing ethics violations after tonight’s vote on Tre Ministries project

UPDATE: City Council Agenda (Dec 2-3)

Seems we are a we bit behind on snow plowing

Libertyland TIF should go to a vote of the entire state!