Letter: No one is ever held accountable with city of Mitchell spending

To the Editor:

I'm still waiting for the city to be saving us money. Remember when the taxpayers voted against hiring a city manager? But then the city council voted to hire a city administrator because as councilman Dan Allen stated, "If she's going to save us money, let's get her hired." Stephanie Ellwein was hired July 14, 2014. Her salary is now $154,505 (plus benefits).

In the last nine years, I haven't seen any savings. Property taxes are high, water rates are high, and because we're told we need a secondary water source they're about to get higher than Sioux Falls, Watertown and Pierre. When B-Y said we were using too much water, did the city cut back on water usage? Why does the taxpayer have to cut back on water usage because it's too expensive, yet we have to water the courthouse, parks and schools? Longfellow had the greenest grass all summer.

The mayor says we need a secondary water source for future growth. What future growth? Our city leaders have been spending multi-millions of dollars for years preparing for future growth. In 2000, our population was 14,558. In 2019, our population was 15,679. An increase of 7.7%. That's 1,121 people in 19 years, an average of 59 people per year. Davison County grew by 2%.

My question is what is it about Mitchell that our city leaders don't like that they're spending multi-millions on to change it? When they do spend our tax dollars on things like the Rec Center pool (that had problems) , second sheet of ice (that the roof leaked) , the silly steps by the beauty shop on Fifth Avenue (that will now be removed) , buying the Kelley house (at a loss), the Casey's lot and bump outs on Main Street that take up valuable parking spaces, not to mention a nightmare for the snowplows.

No one is ever held accountable. Now with inflation and possibly being on the verge of a recession, shouldn't we start being conservative with spending? Most of us have to. I know one way we can save $154,505 (plus benefits).

I think it's time for some new younger leaders for our city, ones that cater to all of us, not just a select few.

Stewart Hanson

Mitchell