Masks are now required in Sioux Falls after a 6-2 vote from the city council.
But unlike other city ordinances, there are no penalties for failing to comply.
The council heard an additional two hours of public comment after voting to reconsider the mask mandate that failed last week. The council then approved several amendments to the ordinance, including one that removed all penalties for noncompliance.
In a press conference Tuesday morning, Sioux Falls Mayor Paul TenHaken said removing the enforcement issue made the ordinance easier to support. Backing from the South Dakota State Medical Association and Avera Health also caught council members’ attention.
Councilor Marshall Selberg voted against the ordinance last week. Now he says healthcare workers are overwhelmed and this ordinance is worth a try.
“I’m as big of a keep-government-out-of-my-face guy as there is, and it’s probably only a one in a hundred chance I would ever find myself supporting something like this, but folks, we’re in the middle of a once in a lifetime pandemic right now. And there is no arguing the facts that the numbers are skyrocketing in the wrong direction. I think we’ve hit that one time in a hundred where we have to do things that we never thought or imagined we’d have to do.”
Councilor Greg Neitzert remains opposed the move. Last week he voted against the ordinance because he felt it overstepped the government’s role. This week, he says the lack of penalties make the ordinance no stronger than a suggestion.
“This is one of those rare cases where really nobody gets anything out of this deal. If you’re against mandates you’re gonna be shamed for it, and if you’re for mandates you’re not even getting a mandate because nobody has to follow it anyway!”
The amended ordinance passed with a 6-2 vote. It’s effective immediately and expires on January first.
The city council went on to approve 20-thousand of a proposed 120-thousand dollar fund for a public outreach campaign on COVID-19 safety. It rejected a possible return to limitations on business capacity from earlier in the pandemic.