Informational Meeting

MINUTES Informational Meeting Tuesday, July 25, 2023, at 4:00 PM Carnegie Town Hall, 235 West 10th St., Sioux Falls, SD 57104 1. Call To Order Council Members Present: David Barranco, Sarah Cole, Alex Jensen (arr. 3:14 p.m.), Rich Merkouris, Greg Neitzert, Marshall Selberg, Pat Starr Council Members Absent: NoneCurt Soehl Council Chair Marshall Selberg called the meeting to order at 4 p.m. and noted a quorum. 2. Councilor Remarks Councilor David Barranco encouraged people to stay hydrated, due to the extreme heat. Councilor Greg Neitzert spoke about attending the Family Park Master Plan input session; and the Joint City/Minnehaha County Planning Commission Meeting. 3. Presentations A. Municipal Property Tax by Shawn Pritchett, Director of Finance Presentation: Approximately 10 minutes followed by discussion Pritchett began by saying a Council Member suggested that since it was budget season it would be helpful to do a deeper dive into property taxes; and how it works for the City and the impact it has for homeowners. He said there is often confusion on what property taxes are used for by a city. Property Taxes go into the General Fund. They are used for a number of things, including Public Safety (Fire, Police, 911); Snow Removal and Pothole Patching; Aquatics and Recreation Programming; Clean and Maintain Parks; Restaurant Inspections; Mosquito and Animal Control; and Library Services and Programming. Property Taxes do not support Capital Infrastructure or Utility Services. The formula for calculating property taxes is property value (per $1,000) multiplied by the levy, which equals the property tax that is due. In 2022, the total property assessed value for Sioux Falls was 80% residential and 20% commercial, which include multi-family housing. The breakdown for the assessed value of single-unit residential properties was: $200K or less, 12%; $200K - $317.7K, 34%; $317.7K - $500K, 30%; $500K - $750K, 16%; and $750K+, 8%. Pritchett mentioned the significance of the $317.7K, which is the cap for qualifying for the property tax rebate. This makes up 65% of the city. He showed a map of the city that distinguished between properties that were either  above or below the $317.7K threshold. When it comes to total assessed taxes, 62% is from residential and 38% is from commercial. Pritchett spoke about mill levies and said that it is equal for the city and county, commercial and residential, but the school district is allowed to have a different one. He said the school district is the primary beneficiary of property taxes. The Sioux Falls School District has an $8.15 or 54% of the mill levy. The City of Sioux Falls mill levy is $3.89 for 26%; and Minnehaha County is $3.07 for 20%. Mill levies are different based on school districts. There are seven school districts in Sioux Falls. A chart was shown featuring the 2022 Minnehaha Municipal Levy comparison. Hartford topped the chart at $5.79. Sioux Falls was towards the middle at $3.89. Crooks had the low mill levy of $2.22. Pritchett then explained how an annual 3% CPI (Consumer Price Index) impacts a municipal levy. A chart was shown with different examples, including a home valued at $100,00 would see an annual increase of $11.66 or $0.97 monthly. He said that there was a $2.4M Cumulative Impact for City Operations, which is significant funding for the city. This funding is used for: All Part-time wages for Aquatics and Park Programming; All Pothole Patching and Traffic Maintenance; All De-icing and Road Salt Supplies; All fuel; the Entire Housing Fund General Tax Support; All Mosquito Control, Health Code Enforcement, and In-home Family Daycare Programs; All Outside Service Partnership Contracts; All Centralized Facility Repairs and Maintenance; and Metro Communications (911) Support. Pritchett said once you give up the CPI adjustment funds it is gone forever. He said that they are two years into the Municipal Property Tax Refund for Low-Income Elderly and/or Disabled program. The program works in conjunction with the State and Minnehaha and Lincoln counties. There have been between 500-800 households impacted by the program; and approximately $265,000 rebated. Discussion followed regarding, if the City has the ability to do an opt out; inflationary increases versus an opt out; types of taxes associated with a VRBO; and clarification on the property tax rebate limit of $317.7K. B. Arts Commission Ordinance by Jeff Eckhoff, Director of Planning and Development Services Presentation: Approximately 10 minutes followed by discussion Eckhoff began by saying that the Arts Commission ordinance is an amendment to the current Visual Arts Commission. He said this stems back to the Mayor's Task Force in 2019 on the Arts, which was put on hiatus due to COVID. It was brought back last year with two recommendations: staff and the formation of an Arts Commission. There is no set date to bring the ordinance forward. Eckhoff posed the question of why an Arts Commission and how is it different from what we have today. He said the Visual Arts Commission is primarily comprised of artist; and their role is to look at any piece of art that is going to go on a public building and to make recommendations on that. The Arts Commission would expand beyond that. Eckhoff said this is a recommendation of the Mayor's Arts Task Force; this would raise the visibility and opportunities for the arts community; it would set direction for a public role in facilitating the arts to enhance the educational and economic impact for the city; it would oversee arts funding and awards from grants, donations, and other sources; and direct the work of future arts staff and implement the Cultural Plan from 2014. The ordinance has the commission comprised of seven voting members. They would represent Arts organizations; architectural and design; Community development; finance and business; three members at-large; three ex-  officio (two City directors or their designee and one City Council member). The Visual Arts Commission would become a committee of the Arts Commission. The commission would act as an advisory body to the Mayor and City Council on matters pertaining to art and the integration of art to activate public space and within neighborhoods. They would: Develop criteria, based on recommendations from the Visual Arts Committee on the public placement of visual art including compatibility with general, social and physical environment with which the art is to relate; Receive and review recommendations upon all works of art to be acquired by the City, either by purchase, gift or otherwise; Develop criteria for review and awarding of projects funded through the City's arts fund (to be established with future grants and other funding); Development and implementation of the City's Cultural Plan to enhance quality of life, promote economic impact through arts and activation of public space, and support workforce development; and preparing an annual report to the Mayor and Council on the status of arts and its economic and community impact. The report shall include all financial and project information. Eckhoff concluded his presentation speaking about the Sioux Falls Cultural Plan, which was approved in July 2014. There was a 26-person Steering Committee and 73 people participated on seven task forces. The focus was on: Arts Education and Youth Development; Arts Funding and Support; Economic/Community Development and Cultural Tourism; Audience Development, Access and Diversity; Artist Services and Creative Workers; Cultural Facilities and Public Art; and Arts Leadership and Coordination. Discussion followed regarding an Arts Coordinator and a definition of the position; arts and activation fund; going from an arts-led to business-led program; and the group supporting Workforce Development. 4. Public Comment There was none. 5. Adjournment Council Chair Marshall Selberg adjourned the meeting at 4:35 p.m. Denise D. Tucker, MMC, Assistant City Clerk