The Rapid City Common Council held the first of at least two fiscal year 2018 budget hearings last night, which calls for a three percent increase in city spending.
That increase is coupled with Mayor Steve Allender’s push for the city to diversify how it is funded. According to city documents, forty three percent of the city’s revenue comes from sales tax collections.
Allender says the city is too reliant on that funding stream, which he says is volatile.
“Our sales tax revenue is okay. There’s very little we can do to alter that. That’s altered by the market. We can choose to alter some of these other sources,” Allender says. “The point of saying all of that is on a long term plan we need greater stability, so in case there’s a time when there’s a dip in sales tax we’re not financially bankrupt.”
Allender also proposes increasing fees for city services, which he says haven’t increased in over two decades.
The Rapid City mayor also says he will call on council to debate whether to raise property taxes in the city at some point. Allender says that could be an issue that comes up in the near future.