Rapid City Finance Office hosts informational sessions about Tax Increment Financing

SDPB | By SDPB News Staff

Published December 19, 2025 at 8:03 AM CST

Rapid City Tax Increment Finance Planner Mike Dugan and Finance Director Daniel Ainslie present at the Property Tax and TIF informational session on Wednesday at City Hall.

Ahead of the January special election on a proposed Tax Increment Financing District for Libertyland USA, city officials are working to address common questions and misconceptions about TIF districts.

The Rapid City Finance Office hosted two informational sessions this week that were open to the public. Finance Director Daniel Ainslie and Mike Dugan, the city's tax increment financing planner, presented at the sessions.

"So when you hear someone say TIF, TIFD or TID, they're all referring to the exact same thing," said Ainslie. "What Tax Increment Financing is, is a tool that helps local governments improve and further development of our communities. What's important about that is it's pretty much the only tool that the state legislature has authorized cities to be able to use."

A PowerPoint slide from Rapid City's Tax Increment Financing informational session shows the definition of Tax Increment Financing

Ainslie and Dugan gave an overview of Rapid City's tax revenue and expenditures before explaining how TIF districts work and what the city can use them for. They also reviewed the most frequent questions the city has been fielding from residents about TIF districts.

For example, Ainslie says a common concern they've heard is worry that a TIF will increase property taxes.

"Just because a TIF is approved, it doesn't mean that your county levy or your city levy is going to be increasing. And it doesn't mean that the value of your property changes. Instead, what it means is within this area there's going to be a lot of private development that goes into it. That new private development is going to be paying more property taxes for a long time, and it just allows those new property taxes to be redirected for a short period of time."

A slide from the Rapid City Finance Office's presentation on TIF districts shows common questions and concerns the city had heard from the public about Tax Increment Financing.

The full livestream of the Rapid City Property Tax and TIF Presentation is available to watch online.

The proposed Libertyland TIF district that voters will decide on in January is for a multi-use project northeast of downtown Rapid that includes history-themed attractions, retail, lodging, conference facilities, housing and other features, according to the TIF Project Plan.

The Rapid City Special TIF District Election is on Jan. 20, 2026. The voter registration deadline is Jan. 5th.