Informational Meeting

MINUTES Informational Meeting Tuesday, March 12, 2019 at 4:00 PM Carnegie Town Hall, 235 West 10th St., Sioux Falls, SD 57104 1. Call To Order Council Members Present: Christine M. Erickson, Rick Kiley, Greg Neitzert, Marshall Selberg, Curt Soehl, Pat Starr, Theresa Stehly Council Members Absent: Janet Brekke Council Chair Christine M. Erickson called the meeting to order at 4 p.m. 2. Committee/Commission Reports A. Metro Management Council: Wednesday, March 6, 2019 Council Member Rick Kiley provided a recap of the meeting which included a discussion of Metro's: business structure, business support services, and long-term agency needs. B. Urbanized Development Commission (UDC): Thursday, March 7, 2019 Council Member Greg Neitzert provided an update of the meeting which included: the 2019-2022 Transportation Improvement Program, 2019 Unified Planning Work Program, 2020 Unified Planning Work Program Public Participation Plan, Program Funding Recommendations, Long-Range Transportation Plan Market Research Study, the Sioux Falls MPO 2018 Year End Report, and the Interchange and Environmental Study for I-229 Exit 3. 3. City Council Open Discussion 4. Presentations A. Local Board of Equalization Update by Karla Goossen, Lincoln County Director of Equalization; Chris Lilla, Minnehaha County Director of Equalization Presentation: Approximately 20 minutes followed by discussion Karla Goossen, Lincoln County Director of Equalization, provided an overview of the local board of equalization process. The local board convenes on March 18, and must conclude no later than March 22. She outlined responsibilities of the board and provided an example of how properties are assessed. Goossen also reviewed the Lincoln County assessment timeline and highlighted past and current assessment ratios. Chris Lilla, Minnehaha County Director of Equalization, provided  an overview of current assessment trends in Minnehaha County and the scheduling process. Discussion followed about: the assessment process, the methodology used to arrive at an assessed value, scheduling, submitting appeals, assessment trends, the relationship between assessments and taxes due, the process for appealing board decisions, and income-based appeals. B. Sioux Falls Police 2018 Crime Statistics by Matt Burns, Chief of Police Presentation: Approximately 15 minutes followed by discussion Matt Burns, Chief of Police, noted that the increase in 2018 calls for service can be attributed to a growing population and more sophisticated call tracking software. The eight homicides is a decrease from 2017, and he pointed out that four of the eight were directly related to drug-related activity. Assaults, robberies, burglaries, stolen vehicles, and larceny each saw a modest increase but did not appreciably impact the rate of crime per 1,000 citizens or the seven-year crime average. Vandlism, fraud, and embezzlement were each down. Much of the crime can be related directly to drug use or drug-related activity. The City is combatting drugs through the Sioux Falls Area Drug Task Force. In 2018 the Task Force conducted over 350 operations of which 105 were search warrants seeking drugs and money from illicit transactions to further pursue other trafficking drugs. In 2018 the Department seized a record 58 pounds of methamphetamines. Compared to 2009, the trend in methamphetamine seizures has steadily increased. Total number of traffic citations were down significantly, which can partly be attributed to a 46% cut to the City's Office of Highway Safety grant funding. The cut decreased saturation patrols and targeted enforcement by over 2,400 hours which had a large impact on the Department's ability to enforce the traffic laws. Clearance rates across the crime categories continue to outpace national averages, which has historically been the case in the City. A large number of crimes are solved by uniformed patrol officers with probably cause arrests at the time of the crime. The work by patrol officers and detectives make the clearance rates very strong. Despite the challenges faced by law enforcement with narcotics, overall property and violent crime rates remain very flat in the City. The 2018 property crime rate of approximately 34 per 1,000 in population is nearly identical to what it was in 2012 and only .06 above the seven-year average. The violent crime rate of approximately 4.5 per 1,000 in population is nearly identical to the 2014 rate and only .04 above the seven-year average. Historically the rates fluctuate within a narrow range, but the fact that they are stable is encouraging given our current population growth and narcotics concerns. Discussion followed about: high-priority call response rates compared to other police departments, fluctuations in drug seizure figures, crime trends by location, the reassignment of officers to the Narcotics Crime Unit, the impact of special events on staffing, the status of community resource officers, the manner in which traffic accidents are reported and managed, reporting drug houses, impacts from the implementation of Marcy's Law, and bills this legislative session regarding police.  C. Recycling Education Campaign Update by Jessica Sexe, Sustainability Coordinator Presentation: Approximately 10 minutes followed by discussion This item was not heard; it will be rescheduled to a future meeting. 5. Public Comment There was none. 6. Adjournment Council Chair Christine M. Erickson adjourned the meeting at 5:53 p.m. Thomas M. Greco, City Clerk