SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO AM) Money's tight, so Sioux Falls Mayor Mike Huether says its time to cut the city budget of what he calls fluff.
"Some of them are very popular. They're fun. They pull at your heartstrings. But yet, is it the role of city government? And in my mind it's not, so let's get the heck out of it," Huether explains on KELO Radio's Greg Belfrage Show.
Among the losers in Huether's proposed 2018 city budget are playground programs, the Arts Council, and the city youth band program.
Huether is urging City Council to stay firm when they listen to the pleas for funding.
"They'll pour their hearts out and say, Council, please don't do this to us! And you look at them and go - it's so hard!, however, at a time when you have lower revenues coming in, you have to make tough choices," says Huether.
With slowing tax revenues and persistent weakness in the farm economy, Huether argues that the city must focus on the fundamentals - roads, public safety, and the like.