As president of the SD Municipal league Vernon is promoting the silly 1 cent sales tax increase city option. He had this to say about it on his website;
South Dakota Municipal League will be asking lawmakers for a major philosophical shift: a temporary sales tax option for special projects. The League’s success in unlocking the state’s financial handcuffs on cities will largely come from the effectiveness of your community’s story. In this case, the smaller the town, the bigger the impact will be, especially when it comes to necessary infrastructure. Here are a few things to consider as you develop your local story:
Handcuffs? Besides last year, the city of SF has enjoyed RECORD sales tax revenue. With that much money coming in you would think we would be driving on streets of gold. It is estimated that in just 7 years the city has spent over $100 million on ‘quality of life’ projects. Or as I like to call them ‘wants’. If city leaders would have been a little wiser over those 7 years we could have put millions in the bank to pay for things like an events center, but instead the city engaged in reckless spending, and now they want to continue their spend fest by increasing taxes. I have often commented that people are not against an Events Center, they just want the city to spend within their means and show some fiscal restraint, especially with a project of this magnitude. I hope the 1 cent sales tax increase has a fast death in Pierre.
Councilor Staggers says the solution to building a new events center is simple, don’t do it by increasing taxes;
No increase in the city sales tax. Most City Council members want to raise the sales tax in Sioux Falls to 7% for an events center. This tax increase would take an additional $50 million out of the pockets of citizens and give it to the city government to spend. The citizens would have less money to spend at a time when economists are calling for consumers to spend more money in order to get the economy out of recession. Furthermore, since the sales tax is a very regressive tax, any increase in the sales tax would further impoverish the poor and low income families in the midst of a recession.
No increases in taxes and no annual operating subsidy for a new events center.Common sense and fairness dictate that a new events center should be paid for by those people who use it. Likewise, if you do not use the facility, you should not pay for it. A new events center should only be supported if there are no increases in taxes and no annual operating subsidy.
He also comments on what our current taxes should be paying for;
Increase spending on city streets and highways. The city is playing catch up in its street maintenance program. The city’s promise of the 1980s that the second penny sales tax would be used for streets must be reaffirmed and honored. This means more of the second penny sales tax must be spent on streets and highways.