Yankton City commissioners reject amendment requiring Yankton Thrive to publish minutes, bids; new motion filed to approve original budget

Yankton City commissioners voted down a proposed amendment to the budget ordinance that would have required Yankton Thrive to post minutes on its website and publish bid notices in the newspaper, then heard a subsequent motion to approve the budget as presented.

The amendment motion — offered by Commissioner Conkling and seconded by Commissioner Hanoff — would have approved “the budget on for with these conditions: that Yankton Thrive provides minutes posted on their website for the public and that they put their bids posted in the newspaper for all to bid on,” according to Lisa (staff member) who read the motion aloud.

The amendment failed on a roll-call vote. Commissioners Mosher, Spencer, Benson, Birch, Brunick, Sarta and Mayor Villanueva voted no; Commissioners Hanoff and Conkling voted yes. Commissioner Coughlin voted no when called earlier on the procedure vote. Before the amendment vote, the commission approved a separate procedural motion to end debate — a “call to question” — by roll call.

Nancy (presenter) defended the city’s economic-development approach during the discussion, saying the presence of local industries brings “new dollars coming back into our community that circulate and help retail and help the restaurants and help have families here that support the school district and health care.” She also summarized recent use of workforce relocation grants, naming Baldwin, Parker Hannifin, Marks Machinery, Vache, Yankton Medical Clinic, Applied Engineering, ELO, Mount Marty College and the City of Yankton as entities that have used the grants, and said the grants do not collect or restrict recipients by heritage.

Ross (staff member) clarified the procedural consequence of successful amendment: “Per statute, any material change at the second reading of an ordinance, if it's beyond a typographical or clerical type, error or correction, I must come back before this commission for a second second reading,” meaning a material amendment would require another public hearing and a subsequent formal vote if the commission adopted it.

After the amendment failed, Commissioner Mosier moved to approve the budget as presented; that motion was seconded. The transcript provided ends after that motion was made and seconded and does not include a final recorded vote on the motion to approve the original budget.

The immediate outcomes recorded in the meeting transcript are (1) approval by roll call of a motion to end debate; (2) defeat by roll call of the amendment to the budget ordinance that would have imposed posting requirements on Yankton Thrive; and (3) a subsequent motion to approve the budget as originally presented, with the vote on that motion not recorded in the supplied transcript.