Bring Back Sidney

12/27/2024

Good Morning Sidney and Cheyenne County,
We hope you are creating amazing memories with family and friends this holiday season. We all needed a little time off to celebrate and give thanks for all we are blessed with. As 2025 approaches however, it is fast becoming time to get back to work. To rebuild our local economy.

Earlier this month the CATO Institute wrote an amazing article about CDBGs, Community Development Block Grants, and how the incoming administration and D.O.G.E., will be cutting and eliminating them as ways to curb Federal spending. Here is the article. https://www.cato.org/blog/cdbg-ripe-target-doge

There are questions in our federal government about just how much these grants are helping locally. As the article says “ Grants, provide news items that meet local policymakers’ needs for media exposure and speedy results, whether or not they meaningfully improve the prospects of disadvantaged residents.“ We can not count on them continuing according to the article. They will be cut.

Edward Glaeser, an urban economist, noted in the article that “Building is the result, not the cause of success.... people, not structures, determine a city's success.” In other words... it is the people who determine their outcome.

In 2025, it will be up to us to rebuild Sidney. We need to slow down spending on luxuries we can not afford at this time. Not forever, just until we turn around our local economy. Spending is a problem. In 2019 we were spending 28 million a year as a city. Today we are spending more than 39 million a year, yet our police force and services are smaller. We need to control spending better. This month the city spent $45,000 for a new pickleball court. Is it so important to have that now? Really? Is it essential for Sidney? Yes, it would be fun to have one, but at what cost to our local economy and to the taxes we pay? It isn't free.... you paid for it.

Sales tax revenues were down the last couple of months. It is not negative to worry about that. Our City Council took out a huge bond (debt) to pave the golf course parking lot. Payments are being made from projected sales tax revenues for the next 10 years. If sales taxes decline, we will need to raise taxes or other fees to pay the shortfall from lost sales taxes, so we do not adversely affect our bond rating. We need to curb spending. We need to take care of our economy or our taxes will go up.

Next week begins 2025. Our group will let you know what is happening with your money. We just have to come together and make smart choices. We are facing serious challenges in 2025. Luxuries like new pickleball courts need to wait. People, residents, and our children are more important and essential for Sidney's success.

12/18/2024

Good Morning Sidney and Cheyenne County,
At last night's Sidney City Council Meeting, Vice Mayor Paul Strommen resigned so he could move on to the Nebraska State Senate. This creates the opening we were talking about in our city council last month.

Mayor Sherman opened up the application process. All interested in submitting an application for the city council must pick up an application at city hall and return it by January 6th. The Mayor will make the choice and the city council will confirm at the January 14th meeting.

Brandon Bondegard was elected as the new vice mayor. City Manager David Scott had nothing to report.

As a community, we need to vet all candidates who put in applications heavily since this process is subverting the election we just had. While the process the mayor will use is allowed by Nebraska law, it is not a process that honors the votes you cast last month.

In the new year let's all make a resolution to get involved in what is happening locally. We need to participate in the process of selecting and vetting, a new County Attorney who will represent all the people fairly. We need to participate and vet all candidates for the open city council position. We have school budget cuts coming, and downtown is suffering. The door for change is now open. You can make sure it happens by getting involved.

Enjoy the holidays, we will keep an eye on what is happening. Let's get involved in 2025 and put our community on the right road to recovery.

12/16/2024

Good Morning Sidney and Cheyenne County,
Here is an update from the Cheyenne County Commissioners meeting this morning.....

Paul Shaub last day as Cheyenne County Attorney will be January 5, 2025. He has accepted a position with Weld County.

Amber Horn from the office has been appointed interim Cheyenne County Attorney until the Commissioners can interview and appoint a replacement.

The Commissioners will post the open position in the newspaper and other sources such as Indeed.

The Commissioners will appoint a new County Attorney at the February 17, 2025 meeting.

We will stay in contact with this appointment process and let everyone know what is happening as this affects everyone in Cheyenne County. If you have concerns, you need to say it. We all need to participate so the best candidate will be appointed.

A special thank you this morning to Marguerite Pool for attending the meetings and providing the information to us.

12/14/2024

Good Evening Everyone,
We just noticed on the agenda for Monday's Cheyenne County Commissioners that there is a notice of resignation from County Attorney Paul Schaub.

This is going to be an exciting week for sure! We all need to really pay attention to who is going to be appointed. More coming.

12/12/2024

Yesterday morning Sidney Police in conjunction with Kimball Police, Cheyenne County Sheriff, Nebraska State Patrol, and Sidney Regional Ambulance Service conducted search warrants on several homes around North Elementary School. You can read the press release on the Sidney Police Department's page. https://www.facebook.com/sidneypolice

We want to thank all departments for their efforts, not just for keeping our community safe, but for informing everyone immediately.

I want to also thank members of “the watchdog” for immediately letting the people know this operation was in progress and asking everyone to stay away and let our law enforcement do their work.

This was a great example of our professionals responding to community concerns and keeping everyone informed. Thank you everyone so much. With communication and teamwork, we can all help make our community safe and secure for everyone.

12/10/2024

I think we have all seen just how the New York Police Department flooded social and news media with the vast majority of information they were collecting on the murder of Brian Thompson, United Health Care CEO.

Without a doubt, it was the hard work of detectives and line officers working in conjunction with the public that apprehended the suspect in 5 days. Think about it, New York City has a population of just over 8 million people. They tracked him down in 5 days. Tough task finding someone. NYPD immediately turned to the public. It works.

The suspect was recognized by a citizen in the rural town of Altoona, PA. They called the police who confirmed and arrested him. What is important is the amount of praise law enforcement has given to the public for this. NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said: “releasing the image of the suspect was key to tracking him down in Pennsylvania.”

Daniel Linskey who was the chief of police of Boston during the marathon bombing stated law enforcement has to use the “digital posse” to help track down and solve crime. The public can help. He praised the public this morning for not only getting involved, but truly catching this suspect.

When we started “the Watchdog” here in Cheyenne County it was our hope to get 900 members. Today we are well on our way to 1,100. A huge success. The public can help. Modern law enforcement uses the public to help. This last case is a pivotal example. Use the “digital posse”.

As a community, we can learn from these examples. How to get out information. Learn just what information can be presented without harming the investigation. As you can see, a lot can come out. Everyone should consider joining “the Watchdog”. Coming together as a community. Start neighborhood watches and link those to “the Watchdog” to make our community aware. Get involved. Let's work together to make our community safer.

I want to thank local law enforcement for the number of posts they have been doing to keep our community aware. We truly appreciate it.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/sidneycheyennewatchdog

https://www.foxnews.com/live-news/unitedhealthcare-ceo-brian-thompson-murder-live-updates-12-10-2024

12/07/2024

We should all pause for just a moment and remember. God bless all who endured and sacrificed.

12/06/2024

Good Morning Sidney and Cheyenne County,
This is the Electoral College map from the 1984 presidential election. Ronald Reagan won almost every state. Reagan had a simple plan in his first election in 1980: cut taxes, and reduced government spending, and regulation. Unleash the power of the American people. Empower the American spirit. It worked. He aimed to increase consumer confidence by lowering taxes and government spending. That is the key—consumer confidence.

I lived through those years as a young father, trying to build a business with an idea. By the second term of Ronald Reagan, it was easy to make money. I did. Most Americans enjoyed prosperity and that is why President Reagan had a historical victory in his second election. You need 270 electoral votes to win the presidential race. He received 525. Mondale received 13, Mondale was a nice guy, but he believed in government and Reagan believed in people. America recovered its economy after 4 years of double-digit inflation and home interest rates of almost 17%. Reagan turned that all around.

By the 1984 election, consumer confidence was astronomical. The economy kept growing. As a young couple, my wife and I started a business. By the end of Reagan's second term, it had grown 1,200%. The key was consumer confidence. You assure people taxes aren't going up and they spend, they invest, which increases GDP and strengthens the economy. This concept works locally as well.

Here in Sidney, we have everything we need to have a great economy. We have great people. What we don't have is confidence. We have a fear of taxes. Our taxing policies hold us back. If we cut spending on a few luxuries which allows us to cut taxes, giving all residents some relief, we will recover, businesses will prosper, Reagan proved that. It has to be real though, the people have to feel it and see it. Most people are not feeling that now in Sidney. It took Reagan 4 years to instill that confidence through cuts in spending and lowering taxes, dropping interest rates. By his next term, many people felt it. The election of 1984 shows it.

We need to learn from history, and if we do, we can do anything. Let's enjoy the holidays. Support all the hard work being done by our neighbors to make Sidney better, especially during the holidays. Great things are happening here during the holidays. Support those efforts and hard work. Then January 2nd, let's come together as a community and change direction. We will be here, fighting tax increases and watching every dime being spent. Why? We have learned from history that this is the direction we need to take to rebuild our community. 7 years ago we were faced with a challenge. We have tried tax increase after tax increase. We are not recovering. How about we learn from some history and just try a new approach? It works. I lived through it.

12/03/2024

A Great Find,
Good Morning Sidney and Cheyenne County,
Our daughter was cleaning out closets and old desks here at the Sidney Fine Art Center this week. She came across a bunch of postcards. Some are over 100 years old. She is cataloging them and preserving them.

She posted on her account a few writings. Here is a sample... We will post some more throughout the holidays. Just fun.

Nov 28 1923 Sidney Nebr
Dear Friend,
How are you folks I am fine.
Have you got your corn out
Hope you will eat lots of Turkey Thank given for me. We had some snow here last night. Love to you all
a Friend
Some of these share messages dating back to 1911.
"Wish I'd left sooner- I would have gone to California"
"We are running a restaurant now & are very busy"
"It is awful dry here...we have not got any work yet. I am awful lonesome for Ethel"
" Dear Sister, Write Mr (?) saying how you our getting along"

These will be a wonderful historical addition to this lovely building. More coming!

12/02/2024

Good Morning Sidney and Cheyenne County,
This past week there was a city council meeting. Mayor Sherman, Councilmen Radcliffe, and Buckner were in attendance. Topics included the delay in fixing the 13th Avenue Bridge from an accident over 1 year ago. It will be completed in Spring 2025. A valid concern about repairing the damage during the winter with potential snow was discussed.

The annual report from Cheyenne County Emergency Communication Center. A flag retirement box was also presented.

The council approved $45,000 to resurface the tennis ball courts and create some pickleball courts. Some using the community center had requested pickleball courts.

Our Sidney City Manager said he attended the Nebraska City Managers Association Meeting in Columbus and the Executive Board Meeting in Lincoln and he said there is a lot of work to do and he is really excited to be working with them. He said, “It is a fantastic group and they are going to do some really good things.” No details on what is exciting or what really good things they are working on. He reminded everyone about the parade and tree lighting this weekend.

The Sun Telegraph had an article about food trucks operating in the city. It was a very good article pointing out the issues on both sides. They were contacted by some local restaurants about the issue. We were contacted as well. It is an issue we need to discuss as a community. The Mayor in the article stated that the food trucks bring in sales tax revenue and permit revenue for the city. They also bring in a needed variety for the residents. This is true. Good points, however, Sidney we must take into account how money circulates through our downtown is we are going to fix it. There is a concern that food trucks don't pay property taxes, but the largest concern I see is that they don't employ local workers. All that profit they make from Sidney residents leaves Sidney. That is an important issue. It needs to be talked about. It hurts our local economy because money leaving is not circulating through the local economy. Brick-and-mortar businesses circulate money locally. That needs to be considered.

As we move into 2025 we really need to work on our downtown economy. What plans do our city manager and council have to fix the economy downtown in 2025? What are we working on as a city? I know we will have brand new resurfaced tennis courts and new pickleball courts but what is the plan for our downtown? Will the food truck issue be addressed or disappear into the ether as people forget? We have to get involved and start the serious work. 2 weeks ago Nebraska gave out $8.3 million in block grants. Sidney wasn't listed. We can't depend on grants. We have to have some serious conversations about our taxes and the local economy.

New grants...
https://nebraskaexaminer.com/briefs/8-3m-in-federal-community-development-block-grants-awarded-to-18-ne-communities/

11/28/2024

Happy Thanksgiving Sidney and Cheyenne County,
From our family and friends to all of you we wish you the best Thanksgiving ever. May it be filled with love, joy, and way too much food! I am up early getting the bread dough ready. I love the smell of baking bread.

Last year we talked about whether there should be oysters in the stuffing. You all had wonderful traditions which were so much fun to read and share. It was amazing just what everyone added to the stuffing. I was a little shocked to see on the news last night that Turkey is the least favorite part of the dinner in at least 35% of those responding. I look forward to eating too much Turkey and falling into a deep tryptophan food coma on the couch in front of the football game each year, while my wife works on her traditional 3,000-piece holiday puzzle. The grandkids running around never even wake me up. Hopefully, I get to see the 4th quarter.

May God's blessing be upon everyone today as we give thanks for another year. We hope you all have way too much fun, food, and joy this day. Share your holiday traditions in the comments. They are fun to read. No counting calories today! It is about stretchy pants and naps...LOL. Have an amazing day!

11/26/2024

Good Morning Sidney and Cheyenne County,
I love the idea and the grace that comes with Thanksgiving. Not the “Black Friday” sales. As I get older those seem less important. No, I love the quiet times that allow me to reflect on just how many blessings I have. Maybe it is because I live in an old church.

As I get older I understand it is not about things, it is about time. I am so blessed by my wife. She has put up with me for 44 years. We have traveled the world together. From Paris to Tokyo. Seen many beautiful things, but the only thing that is important is spending time together. Yesterday she came back after working 3 days at a hospital in Colorado. She grabbed a couple of hours' sleep after working all night, got up, and said “I want to go for a walk with you”. That is what I am thankful for. Not things. No, it is time together. We are here for a short time, enjoy every minute you can. She truly is my blessing.

I live in an old church. That may be why I reflect now more than I did when I was younger when I was traveling the world to build a business. Buying expensive gifts because that is what I thought life was all about. Big Screen TVs and fancy cars. Those are short-term things, not what it is about. Today, I like to grab a cup of coffee in the early morning hours and watch the sunrise through the stained glass in the sanctuary of this old church. A place where people have lifted up their prayers to our Father. Their hopes and dreams, their troubles and sadness. I so love the quiet times in this old church. The connection is amazing.

Life is about time. My wife always takes the grandkids out for their birthday. They are gone all day, shopping, hiking whatever the grandchild wants to do. The other day, she had the 6-year-old out. At 3 pm I get a call, and they are coming back early. Why? She said “Addy wants to watch the Lion King with PaPa while eating chicken nuggets. That is what I am thankful for. A comfy couch, the Lion King, chicken nuggets, and most of all, time with my 6-year-old grandchild and my wife.

I am thankful for my friends who spend some of their time with me. The other day I called Eric, “What are you doing?” He was delivering a full Thanksgiving dinner with turkey to a family here in Sidney that didn't have one. That is Eric. Never told anyone, not even me. Just does it because it is the right thing to do and he sees a need. So while most of us know him as a person railing against taxes, bureaucrats, and excessive spending, he and his family are very generous with their time. Sidney is full of people like this. I am truly thankful for that. Even those I disagree with. We may disagree on the course of action, but there is a lot of effort to make good things happen. Sidney is better for it.

So, for me, Thanksgiving is not about “Black Friday”, it is about time. Spend the time with people you love because one day they will not be there. Enjoy those times, make those memories, and live life with your loved ones. I will also take time to thank our father for the many blessings because I live in an old church. I know for a fact heaven is real. Enjoy everyone.

11/25/2024

Downtown fun is coming!!

Holiday in Hickory is right around the corner! 🎅

11/21/2024

Good Morning Sidney and Cheyenne County,
So at the latest commissioners meeting, they opened the bids for the new roof. Hundreds of thousands of dollars. 1 bid from Sidney, others from out of the area. The commissioners did the right thing and tabled it for now but haven't called for public input. That isn't good. Public input is where solutions come from. It brings a community together in a positive solution-seeking mode. What would you do? I know what the best economic solution for Sidney is because I studied the economy of Sidney. There is one solution that would fix the roof and Sidney simultaneously, but last time the commissioners didn't choose that path, and now, here we are again. We can fix it.

What is the local economy? Bad... We are in a bad trend. You can't cover that with flowery words, videos, and grants. It takes serious investment dollars. True investment, not grants. At the last council meeting, we already went into our reserves spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on needed equipment. It needed to be done but we are 1 month into the new fiscal year and dipping into reserve cash. That isn't good. Very bad. Then we hear our finance director say “Sales tax revenue is down a little but I am not too concerned, Christmas sales are coming.” As a business owner, if my month-to-month goes down, I am concerned. Very concerned. I would want to know why, but no one, not one person on that council asked “Do you know why sales tax revenue is down?” Not one question! “Oh ok... “Maybe it will get better”. We need to fix this.

I know exactly why sales tax revenue is down. President Reagan said it 40 years ago. Many residents here know why sales tax revenue is down. You don't ask us. You need to ask the community for solutions. Our city manager doesn't have a clue. He just suggests raising taxes. There are amazing people here with solutions. Just get together and talk about it. The council says “Come to the meetings”. They put out 2 dozen chairs and give you only 3 minutes each meeting to speak. That is 6 minutes a month to talk about solutions. That is not inviting anyone to be part of the solution process. That is limiting them to 3 minutes so meetings are not too long, so it doesn't get too late. We have tried to make presentations to the council to save the city money just to have those presentations declined by David Scott, our City Manager, who takes $130,000 a year from us and controls who speaks at the council meeting. THIS IS WHY HE NEEDS TO GO, FIRE HIM. He works directly against community involvement. We can fix that!

It isn't the decision of 3 commissioners or 5 council members. It is the Constitutional rights of the people. It has to be the community. No one should act unilaterally in any decisions. Not in today's day and age where communication is instant and easy. Work together. Move the community forward together! Make people feel their concerns are valid and they will work with you. Ignore us and we will work against you because this isn't just your community, it is all of us. There are amazing young people here who want to help. Let them. Open the door. Embrace the community. We can fix the local economy, roofs, new trucks, and parking lots. It can be fixed and if we do it together, the glue holding this community together is stronger. Bring the community together.

11/19/2024

Good Morning Sidney and Cheyenne County,
The City of Sidney is hiring a new Assistant City Manager. We the taxpayers are offering $79,975 to $93,560 for the position. It is creating a little stir because many didn't know we were hiring one.

So, please explain why we need this position right now. The last Assistant City Manager we had left at the end of 2019. Almost 5 years ago. If it was such a necessity, why haven't we had one for 5 years?

Across Nebraska, the average number of residents working for government is 15%. In Sidney, it is around 23%. This is from the latest census. We are growing and growing government here. It is concerning.

In 2017 we created the Finance Director position. That pays over $75,000 a year. Our current City Manager makes $130,000 a year. Economic Director over $70,000 a year.

How many people do we need to run this city? This last year we missed our income projections. This last month at the council meeting our Finance Director told us sales tax revenue is down. Our downtown is in trouble. When are we going to stop spending money? The election is over. We are back to normal again, spending what we don't have.

So if someone knows, just why we need to spend this amount of money for a position we haven't had for almost 5 years please explain it to me and the other taxpayers of Sidney who are concerned for our future. We would love the opportunity to talk over the budget and debate it. Wouldn't it be wise right now that we are the highest taxed city in Nebraska to look at slowing down our spending? Just what does this Assistant City Manager bring to the table? At some point in time, residents have to say enough. When is that going to happen?

11/16/2024

Good Morning Sidney and Cheyenne County,
A concerned resident brought this letter to us and asked us to share it with everyone. I know nothing about this and haven't received a letter like this. Their home is over by the high school on Maple. They said they received it in the mail. We told them we would pass on the information just in case some may have thrown it away without reading it, which happens to me a lot.

I scanned the letter and it is here.

https://changecheyenne.com/images/Files/Lead%20warning.jpg

Like I said we know nothing about this and haven't received any letter so it is probably just an isolated warning. Just be aware.

11/15/2024

Good Morning Sidney and Cheyenne County,
We have received a lot of messages in the past few days. Some sad, “Sidney never changes” some with “How can I help”. Overall, good things are happening. Some want to work on the future, bringing new ideas, business, etc. Some want to look deep into the budgets and see just what is going on. Some even want to set up our own DOGE “Department of Government Efficiency” and keep an eye on all spending. I like that one....... I like it a lot....LOL.

We have a group of residents that are working on these ideas. There are 55 members in from around Sidney. They are at the beginning stages of talking, working through ideas. All ideas. This is a group we have used before. Some moved away in the last 18 months so we added some new members and sadly removed some. We are not going to give up.

1,049 people voted for Brian Fort in the last election. Unilateral decisions from one person to not use those votes and decide for himself who should serve the people will not work any longer in Sidney. Every vote is important. People are important. Things will change in Sidney. Maybe not next week, but they are changing. We are talking about all means to protect your vote. We will present all kinds of ideas to the community. The key word is community. You decide. More coming very soon!

11/14/2024

So yesterday we all saw something amazing. The Presidential tradition of unifying our country. Political foes, coming together for the unification of America. It was a great moment.

Could we possibly do that here? It's time to open the doors to conversation. Listen to the people. Unify our community through conversation and trust. We are neighbors. It can be done with one simple act by our mayor—an act used by previous mayors. Appoint the next highest vote-getter in last week's election. Don't use the unilateral application process and shut out the residents of Sidney. Either that or hold a special election so the people can decide.

This week we received a copy of the Cheyenne County Chamber newsletter. The Director is writing about moving the businesses in Sidney forward, unifying them. His words are amazing and right on target. His words bring us together and make us excited about working towards a future in Sidney. Here is a quote from his message to downtown businesses.....

Quote from, Director, Cheyenne County Chamber;
“Strong leadership is not about unilateral decision-making; it’s about empowering others. By actively engaging with members and encouraging their input, the Cheyenne County Chamber can harness the collective strength of our businesses. This collaborative approach helps to identify the needs and challenges faced by different entities, ensuring that resources and strategies are relevant and impactful.”

Again, he is talking about businesses downtown, not politics. The logic however applies to everything Sidney. It brings a community together. Gives them the feeling of inclusion. We need that. We need to build stronger community bonds.

So with that, as we have said, our mayor has 3 pathways to fill the vacancy as told to us by the office of the Nebraska Sec. of State. 1. Appoint from the last highest vote-getter. 2. Special Election. 3. Application process. The application process is a unilateral process that involves first the mayor and then the city council, no voter has a voice. We need inclusion if we want to bring the community together not unilateral applications.

So anyone that supports the unilateral application process, please come on this page and explain to us the voters how the application process the mayor would use advances and empowers the residents of Sidney. How does it bring us together? Please explain to us. How is that process reaching out to the citizens and including them? We do not see it.