After a process dubbed “recalibration” by the mayor, Sioux Falls has approved a $775-million budget to contend with lower expected revenues. Despite the cuts, some concessions were made during the debate process.
The process began with Mayor Paul TenHaken’s initial proposal in July and started with the idea of lower revenues and tax receipts in mind. Those cuts would come from a wide range of city services across Sioux Falls.
Ultimately, the final budget saw near-unanimous support on the final vote.
During the City Council meeting, Sioux Falls finance director Shawn Pritchett said it was a battle.
“At times, it has had challenging conversations, but I think those have been good," Pritchett said. "Ensuring we remain strong as a city moving forward. While the focus has been on recalibration, I don’t think we should forget this budget proposal continues to invest in many great things for our community.”
Some of those investments came during the debate and amendment process, namely avoiding cuts on public pools and library services.
Northeast district councilwoman Miranda Bayse argued library hours can’t be sacrificed.
“We have a lot of folks that are accessing our libraries in the evenings, and we even talk about the Brandon library that’s part of our Siouxland libraries that’s out and affects the county," Bayse said. "As we talk about the primary city services, and what literacy and access to education materials do for the future, we just want to make sure that’s accessible to our community.”
Both those minor adjustments passed and had little impact on the council's final vote, which handily passed the complete budget package.
At the same time, Rapid City is also planning for a reduction in budget. That hearing is scheduled for Sept. 15.