The finance director will tell us we need the money for plowing streets and maintaining pools but we all know why our property taxes and assessments keep going thru the roof;
Since the city doesn’t track liabilities for future maintenance in the budget process, city leaders feel blindsided when a major maintenance issue occurs. In 2023, the city realized the Sixth Street bridge needed replacement. Some city leaders expressed dismay about this “unexpected” infrastructure expense. The bridge was close to 50 years old. It was obvious that it would need work at some point, and it shouldn’t have been a surprise when it did. But the city doesn’t acknowledge future obligations, and therefore can’t plan for them.
I have often seen the city build these huge brand new roads in Sioux Falls and I think to myself, that is going to cost us in a couple of years.
During the discussions at the Active Transportation Board many members expressed concern about how unsafe our roads and sidewalks are for pedestrians and bicyclists. Guess what, that Genie ain’t going back in the bottle. We built these inner city freeways and that won’t change anytime soon. I have said to people, if you think Sioux Falls was expensive to live in now, you wait.
All these employers in the hospitality industry are crying they can’t find workers, maybe it’s because they can’t afford to live here?