Your guide to city government

Who's in charge of the city?

🎵We're lookin' for a mind at work, work

A simplified glossary to get you started

Administrative and Executive Powers: the power to manage, implement and enforce laws. The mayor has this power.
At-Large: a member of the city council or county commission that represents everyone in the city or county, not just those in a particular district.
Chair: a member of the council or commission acts as a go-between between the council and entities like the mayor or city administration.
Charter: essentially the constitution of Sioux Falls, it’s the governing document for the Sioux Falls city government. A public vote is required to change or add to it.
City Ordinances: These are the laws of Sioux Falls, voted on by the City Council. To pass a city ordinance, there have to be two chances for the public to comment. When ordinances are created by city entities (for example, the mayor, council members or a city department, etc.), they must be submitted to the City Clerk's Office for placement on a meeting agenda.
Joint Meeting: a meeting between the county commission (Lincoln or Minnehaha) and the Sioux Falls City Council. This happens monthly and is open to the public.
Legislative Powers: the power to make laws. The city council has this power.
Motion: this has to happen so that an item can be brought to the discussion; without a second to the first motion, the item won't pass. Members of the city council, commission, etc. can always defer the item, which gives the presenter more time to come up with information to answer questions.
Parcel: a piece of land; you might hear this discussed in city council meetings when discussing things like construction projects.
Primary: when a political party votes on the candidate to represent them in the final election. You'll see this happen at the state level.
Public Input: citizens have three to five minutes to present comments or concerns that weren't on the agenda.
Resolution: this is a nuance to a city ordinance. This can include appointing people to citizen boards, moving money to different accounts, etc.
Robert's Rule of Order: the protocol for public comment during City Council meetings. Any comment or concern must be about the topic at hand. This does not apply to public comment at the end of a meeting.
Vice Chair: takes over for the Chair if they're unavailable, see above
1st Reading: when an ordinance is introduced for a vote in public meetings. Citizens have three minutes for public comment.
2nd Reading: the last bit of discussion about an ordinance before a final vote. Citizens have five minutes for public comment.
Zoning: when local governments regulate how land can be used and developed within a certain area; each zone might have different requirements and restrictions.

The Sioux Falls City Council is made up of eight members. Five represent specific districts in the city and three are elected at-large.

Sioux Falls has a "strong mayor" form of government, meaning the mayor has both executive and administrative powers.

The mayor's place on the city council also gives them a slice of legislative power because their vote can break a tie among councilors.

And let's not forget about the city clerk's office. The city clerk doesn't report to the mayor, but instead for the city council and they are responsible for:

Organizing and overseeing municipal elections (including putting people on the ballot),
Acting as a community liaison between the city and its residents,
and ensuring records and budget information are transparent and available for public viewing.

Don't forget the boards

In addition to these offices, there are over 40 boards and commissions that inform everyday life in Sioux Falls. These boards and commissions act as advisors to the mayor and city council. If they see something that needs to be addressed in the city, they gather research, financial information and more to present to the council.

Board and commission members (not to be confused with the county commission) are appointed by the city council and mayor's office. Mayors are elected by popular vote. Candidates running for city council must receive 50% of the vote to win the election. Both serve four-year terms.

Some things to keep in mind...

🎵It's your thing, do what you wanna do!

We chatted with some folks at the city clerk's office to see what people should know before you plan to visit with the city council or start going to more meetings:

Here's generally what you can expect to go down at a city council meeting

Call to Order: This includes taking a roll of council members in attendance, a prayer from local religious leaders and the Pledge of Allegiance.
Consent Agenda: At this time, a motion will be called to approve recent communication items and things discussed during the joint meeting with the county commission.
Regular Agenda: This is usually approved in one motion (no second needed), and marks the beginning of topics for that evening's meeting.
Ordinance Second Readings: Council members discuss and hear public input on ordinances for the final time before they become city ordinance. During second readings, public input is limited to five minutes.
Ordinance First Readings: Council members introduce and schedule ordinances for a second reading. Public input is allowed after each one, but only for three minutes.
Hearings and Resolutions: This is stuff that doesn't rise to the level of needing to be a full-on ordinance but still needs council approval – for example, moving money around, approving members of citizen boards, adopting certain initiatives, etc.
New Business: If council members wish to introduce anything to discuss at the next meeting, they do it here. Usually you won't see much activity in this portion of the meeting.
General Public Input: Robert's Rules of Order don't apply here. You can get up and talk about whatever you want. However, time is limited to three minutes.
Adjournment: Members of the city council give a first and second motion to end the meeting.

Other important stuff to note

Keep in mind Robert's Rules of Order. Here's a primer if you need one.
Members of the council only work part-time for the city and receive part-time pay in addition to working full-time jobs outside of city government.
Councilors also have to divulge any conflicts of interest, so you might see certain members recuse themselves (i.e. step away) from certain votes if they stand to benefit from the outcome.

Who can you contact?

Who ya gonna call?

There are almost 20 departments working for the City of Sioux Falls that are able to assist with almost anything. Pothole issues in your neighborhood? Got questions about the way things work? Take a look at this who-to-contact page from the City of Sioux Falls to see if anyone here can help!

Below you can find a handful of quick links that will take you to key areas of the City of Sioux Falls Website.

If you have questions about a recent meeting, budget items, municipal election or just want to get into detail that we didn't go into in this guide, the city clerk's office is a great place to go.

Contacting your city council member is a way to make sure your concerns are heard during meetings. Here's the full list of council members and their contact info. Need to find your district? Click the button below.

Find Your Councilor

Have questions that didn't get answered?

Let me know at megan@sfsimplified.com