Sometimes the best way to judge a board is by what they feel they need to ask their lawyer behind closed doors. Imagine this scenario:A landowner submits a public records request. Shortly afterward, the board calls a special meeting and puts “representative engagement with legal counsel” on the agenda. What might they be asking their…
“Requesting an Attorney General Opinion on the legality of flat “special maintenance fees” in 31-12A districts.” I am hesitant to ask this because he could easily just say that it is legal and fine as it has been done for so long. He could just interpret that as part of the statute where it say…
For years this website has asked uncomfortable questions. Sometimes sarcastically. Sometimes bluntly. Sometimes with frustration. But over time the focus changed. Less opinion. More statutes. Less rumor. More records. Less “he said / she said.” More agendas, minutes, bylaws, financial reports, Attorney General opinions, maps, surveys, and public documents. The purpose was to ask whether…
Recent Saddleback Road District meeting minutes stated: “While statute SDCL 9-43-138 assigns the Trustees the responsibility of passing an annual resolution to set the annual maintenance levy…” There is a major legal problem with that statement: SDCL 9-43-138 does not mention road districts. It applies specifically to municipalities. The statute states: “The governing body of…
The board just sent out an agenda for a special meeting tomorrow night, and it’s another example of the ongoing transparency issues. Here are just a few highlights: This is the same board that was already publicly reprimanded by the Open Meetings Commission. Yet here we are again with vague agenda items that don’t give…
The Minutes state: Discussed that research was completed through the Secretary of State office and the Custer County Treasure’s office. This research showed that the Road District is not authorized to have fund raising methods outside of the Road District Levey’s placed upon landowners. Any fund raiding events cannot be endorsed by the Saddleback Road…
One of the biggest sources of confusion surrounding South Dakota road districts is this: A road district is not a private neighborhood club. It is not a homeowners association.It is not a private board of volunteers managing shared amenities.And it is not a social committee that gets to “do what seems reasonable.” A road district…
The agenda item was: G. Resource and Revenue generation methods – Secretary This is a fairly narrow and vague topic. A reasonable person reading the agenda would expect discussion about possible fundraising, donations, or alternative revenue ideas – not a detailed discussion about: These are budget and operational matters that go well beyond the stated…
One of the most common responses whenever concerns are raised about the Saddleback Road District is: “The current board is reasonable.” Or: “These trustees would never abuse their authority.” But the history of this district itself demonstrates exactly why government cannot operate based solely on trust in individuals. People change. Boards change. Circumstances change. Bias…
Question- Will it take Dale Ruzicka the full 10 days to respond to a simple public records request? YES!!!! Why? …Because that’s how long he has. It’s a power play. The request made was incredibly simple. We are not talking about a huge office with lots of files and limited staff. There are 3 people…
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