How is Sioux Falls growing? Mayor Mike Huether shares some figures and his own opinions on the condition of Sioux Falls at Thursday's State of the City Address. We were there as the mayor addressed infrastructure, debt and the future.
It was a packed house at Thursday's State of the City address, as Mayor Mike Huether went over everything from job openings to budgets. Much of it was very optimistic about where Sioux Falls is at right now financially.
"We are pretty conservative folks. We do value a healthy piggy bank, and in the city of Sioux Falls our piggy bank is full," said Huether.
Right now, the city boasts $43.6 Million in reserves. Huether also points out that Sioux Falls has less debt than similar sized neighbors like Fargo, Sioux City, and Rochester.
While he is proud to say Sioux Falls added 3,000 new jobs in 2015, that can also be a problem.
"Normally you would just sing at the highest level when you have an unemployment rate of around 2.7%. I'm certainly, I'm singing its praises. At the same time, when you're growing at the pace that we're growing, you also need good workers," said Huether.
Huether says even the city has approximately 90 job openings this year. In two months, four jobs will open for the City Council. Huether hopes the new members will help him finish his term by working on infrastructure, which he admits isn't the most flashy way to go out.
"It's not just those grandiose, fun, event centers and those new indoor pools and those River Greenways. It's not just that. We love the boring stuff as well," said Huether, "I'm going to do my best to encourage the council to put their money into that boring stuff over the next two to three years."
It was a packed house at Thursday's State of the City address, as Mayor Mike Huether went over everything from job openings to budgets. Much of it was very optimistic about where Sioux Falls is at right now financially.
"We are pretty conservative folks. We do value a healthy piggy bank, and in the city of Sioux Falls our piggy bank is full," said Huether.
Right now, the city boasts $43.6 Million in reserves. Huether also points out that Sioux Falls has less debt than similar sized neighbors like Fargo, Sioux City, and Rochester.
While he is proud to say Sioux Falls added 3,000 new jobs in 2015, that can also be a problem.
"Normally you would just sing at the highest level when you have an unemployment rate of around 2.7%. I'm certainly, I'm singing its praises. At the same time, when you're growing at the pace that we're growing, you also need good workers," said Huether.
Huether says even the city has approximately 90 job openings this year. In two months, four jobs will open for the City Council. Huether hopes the new members will help him finish his term by working on infrastructure, which he admits isn't the most flashy way to go out.
"It's not just those grandiose, fun, event centers and those new indoor pools and those River Greenways. It's not just that. We love the boring stuff as well," said Huether, "I'm going to do my best to encourage the council to put their money into that boring stuff over the next two to three years."