REPLAY: Patrick Lalley Show – KSOO 1000 AM – 4 PM
l3wis Not sure what I will be talking about, probably the upcoming primary. REPLAY.
2018
Lloyd Co. may have the highest tax valuation but are they paying a fair percentage?
I had learned a few months ago when Lloyd came crying for their TIF for the Cascade that Lloyd paid the most property taxes and had the highest property tax valuation;
Lloyd Property Management (Lloyd Cos.) adds $186.8 million of tax value to the city, according to the annual Comprehensive Annual Finance Report released last by the city earlier this month.
While Mr. Snevaliscious does a great story, it’s just the tip of the iceberg. (I’m hoping you have some follow up stories). So how much does Lloyd actually pay? My rough estimates would be between $2-3 million a year. But is Lloyd actually paying the same percentage as you and me or other property owners in town? The reason I ask this question is because Lloyd has received millions in TIFs (tax rebates) from the city and not just Sioux Falls, but other communities across the region.
I would be curious just what tax rate they are paying after averaging their entire payment. My guess is they are getting significant breaks. And if you think this will end after TenHaken just appointed a former Lloyd Executive as his COS, you my friend are sadly mistaken.
Should the City of Sioux Falls Rebrand?
There’s a rumor swirling around that our new mayor’s administration is fiddling with the idea of ‘Re-Branding’ Sioux Falls. I can understand why there may be a push to do this. There are way too many different silly logos (Publisher Clipart) for all the departments, some old, some new, some don’t have one and others like Water Reclamation could probably care less.
If this attempt is made, let me suggest something I learned a long time ago in design, the KISS theory, Keep it Simple Stupid.
While I think the city seal could use a little polishing up to make it more clean, I don’t think we need to re-invent the wheel here, and we should probably keep it classic and historical and not go to modern. My suggestion above would work nicely. Each department would have the same logo with a byline defining the department. That’s it.
The government itself shouldn’t be in the business of marketing itself. People know it exists, that’s why we have reminders like elections and taxes. If the CVB and Chamber want to have some fancy logo for bringing in Tourism, have at it, but the city itself as a functioning government doesn’t need to go there.
Oops we forgot Public Input (5/30/2018)
Once we get past the Geo Domes and Holograms, George let’s them have it about home valuations.
The Sioux Falls Public School’s attempts to keep everyone in the dark by having meetings without paying attention to the public was illustrated on May 30, 2018 as the members tried to close out Task Force Meeting #4.
The school district has no intention of playing fair or above board in their attempts to spend $190,000,000 to build more vanity schools for the privileged. The audience called out the Task Force members and George Hahn spoke for many but by then what did it matter, the Task Force had already voted before any public could speak.
UPDATE: Final Sioux Falls School District Bond Task force meeting
UPDATE: Looks like they will be asking for $190 million dollar bond in a stand alone election in September. Never pass. Never. If they get 45% I would be shocked. The only saving grace of the night is that they will assess us over 10 years and incrementally raise taxes over that time period. They are going to sell this to us as a $3 a month increase ($185K valuation).
One of the best ideas of the night came from Public Works Director Mark Cotter (who I think knows passing the $190 million is going to be a challenge). He suggested a $126 million dollar bond and pay for the rest with capital outlay funds. He got poo-poo’d right away. They were quick to point out that they can’t trust Pierre and they may need that money for other stuff. In other words, get as much as we can and hey if the outlay money is still there, we’ll spend that to. A lot of greedy people run our school district.
The final meeting will be tonight at 5:30 PM at the IPC.
The group is expected to come up with a final price-tag and what exactly that will be paying for. They will also be discussing an election date. I think they are shooting for $150 million.
The Superintendent wants the election in September as a stand alone, which I think is a bad idea and will not get the 60% passage required, I think they would be better off having it in November.
I think they are assuming they will have a lower voter turnout which equates to a better chance of passing the bond issue. In other words they are going to appeal to people who they think will be willing to pass it. Sometimes this works, in this case I don’t think they will get passage for either date. I think they need to get the bond at or under $100 million. If they go with the $150 million price tag, that will equate to a $100 a year for every $100K valuation of home in property taxes.
While I know we need to build new schools, I think they should scrape some of the money from other sources and get the price tag down below $100 million. I also think they need a long range to 5 year plan in build all of the schools, spreading the expense out. I will vote against it if they can’t get it down to $100 million, and I have a feeling most people will to. I would be surprised if they even get 40% in favor of it.