CITY - New Alderman Takes On Government Improvement Issues
07/29/2010 - RAPID CITY SD - Newly elected Ward Four alderman Jordan Mason is taking up two significant limited government issues as his term on the city council gets under way.
Mason asked the Legal and Finance Committee to approve a resolution that directs city officials to ask the South Dakota Municipal League to back a bill in the legislature that would improve record keeping for closed executive sessions. Mason says that keeping such records would be a benefit for the council, but City Attorney Jason Green pointed out the problems; first, that the existence of such a closed-session record would be legally considered a public document under current state law, and that until such a record can be legally sealed, Green says he'd be prevented from disclosing confidential information to the council at executive sessions.
Mason also says he'll work with Human Resources Director Kevin Thom to examine Sioux Falls' loss and theft hotline for city employees, to see if such a program could be useful here in Rapid City. Mason says there is potential for savings of many thousands of dollars, compared to the low annual cost of keeping such a hotline in operation.
Mason and another candidate, Ron Sasso, were endorsed by the TEA Party group Citizens For Liberty.
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