Informational Meeting

MINUTES Informational Meeting Tuesday, April 21, 2020 at 4:00 PM Carnegie Town Hall, 235 West 10th St., Sioux Falls, SD 57104 1. Call To Order Council Members Present: Janet Brekke (via telecon), Christine M. Erickson (via telecon), Rick Kiley (via telecon), Greg Neitzert, Marshall Selberg, Curt Soehl, Pat Starr, Theresa Stehly Council Members Absent: None Council Chair Marshall Selberg called the meeting to order at 4 p.m. 2. City Council Open Discussion Council Member Theresa Stehly spoke about the Project TRIM in that resources could be more effectively used to assist citizens. 3. Presentations A. March 2020 Financials by Shawn Pritchett, Director of Finance Presentation: Approximately 15 minutes followed by discussion Pritchett presented the March Financial report by first explaining that any impacts of the pandemic would likely not be seen until future reports. Unemployment was at 3.2% down from 3.4% the prior month. The City maintained an average 2.9% unemployment rate throughout 2019; he expects the numbers to increase in future reports. Inflation was at 1.5% compared to 2.3% in February. This was driven in large part by a decrease in the energy sector (-5.7%). Overall, there was $103.7M in building permit valuations through March 2020. This is similar to previous years. New residential values are up, new commercial values are down, and office/institutional/educational values were up. There was a fairly significant decline in multi-family housing, however the coming months may show a change. In terms of Sales Tax collections, the City was above receipts each month (January through February) compared to the previous year. He reiterated that the numbers do not reflect changes that may have occurred due to the pandemic; future reports will show such impacts. Entertainment Tax collections were strong as well during the first three months of the year, however, he cautioned again the available data does not yet reflect the impacts of the pandemic. General Revenues to date have been about 16% of budgeted revenues. This is consistent with previous years. Most revenues were consistent with expectations for the first quarter. In terms of expenditures, the City  has expended approximately 21% of the budget, also consistent with previous years and expectations. For the forward outlook, he emphasized the City continues to follow trends in the local and national economies particularly with regard to COVID-19. There is expected to be increased unemployment and market volatility. The City's pandemic response includes the continued assessment of revenue impacts, continued identification of budget and expenditure flexibility, and adjustments to programs and services. He noted that sales tax revenue figures for March will become available in a couple of weeks, but the first full month's worth of data will not be seen in a monthly financial update until June (April data). Discussion followed about projected sales tax revenues, the ability to continue providing services, the bank income tax, bonding for the River Greenway and Public Safety Facility, and other measures. B. The CARES Act by Bob Mundt, Sioux Falls Development Foundation and Dave Rozenboom, First PREMIER Bank Presentation: Approximately 25 minutes followed by discussion Mundt said that he would be explaining some of the things the development foundation is doing to support the business community during the pandemic. According to ongoing industry surveys, manufacturing companies are operating close to normal. Many employers are seeking to hire employees during this period to fill gaps left by employees who can't work. The SFDF developed some programs and websites to assist by providing resources. Opportunity Sioux Falls is a website developed for employers looking for workers and workers looking for work. SupportSiouxFalls.biz was developed by the Chamber and connects businesses and the general public service industry business that are open for business. Several financial programs have been established to include Governor Noem's Small Business Assistance Fund, the DTSF financial assistance program, and State and Federal programs like the Payroll Protection Program (PPP). He introduced Dave Rozenboom to present an overview of the program Rozenboom provided background on the PPP by comparing it to lessons learned from previous difficult economic situations. Specifically, he explained that one of Congress' purposes of the PPP is to provide as much stimulus as possible and quickly, to help keep employers and employees connected to avoid unemployment and costs of reentry into the workforce. Congress allocated 349B of funding for small businesses and nonprofits around the country for the expressed purpose of retaining and rehiring employees. In order to deliver the money quickly Congress created it as a forgivable loan program that uses financial institutions to deliver it. The law was passed on March 27, 2020, and by April 3, 2020, banks were determining how to deliver it. In South Dakota, 11,324 PPP loans were approved totaling 1.4 billion. 77.7% of the eligible payroll that could be counted toward this program was utilized in the state. Rozenboom stated the state did an exceptional job doing this and is ranked fifth nationally in covering eligible payroll with the program. He attributed this to the strong relationships between small businesses and nonprofits in our community with local financial institutions which allowed quick access to the loans in an effective way. The program provides an exceptional bridge to businesses. Discussion followed about the benefits of the program, requirements of the program, terms of the forgivable loan, supplemental appropriations for the program, percentage to the banks, and payroll costs included. 4. Public Comment There was none. 5. Adjournment Council Chair Marshall Selberg adjourned the meeting at 5:24 p.m. Thomas M. Greco, City Clerk