UPDATE: The argument the reps will use who support this is that smaller communities in SD need this tax leverage, for needed infrastructure, which I support 100%, but Sioux Falls doesn’t need this. Some have been suggesting to reps amend the bill so 1st class cities like SF and RC cannot get this kind of tax leverage, I would also make it so the bonds have to be for NEEDED infrastructure in their communities, not play palaces.

As I have been saying, no new convention center will be built without a tax increase. The city cannot borrow $400 million without another revenue source (full doc);

So the Municipal League suckered a retired business owner in Ft. Pierre to carry their water. Hey Mike, ever read your own campaign materials from your website?

To review my credentials, I am a conscientious, common-sense Republican who is respectful of our institutions, values, and the rewards created by investing in our people and relying on free enterprise to create opportunities for the betterment of our society. 

Hey Mike, why not take your own advice and let the private sector build this Convention Center. Seems hypocritical of your ‘values’ supporting a tax increase for essentially a white elephant we don’t need.

You will notice they will try to pass this saying that it is NOT a tax increase but an OPTION for voters. It would need a 60% passage by a citizen vote in the city that wants the increase. So how the city plan to have us vote on this? Will we vote first on a tax increase THEN vote on the CC or will we just put it in one package? I am hoping the Legislature kills this, but stranger things have happened. These taxes will also NOT go away when the CC is paid off. The entertainment tax was supposed to sunset after the CC and Pavilion bonds were paid off, guess what, still throwing money at it. The Municipal League has been lobbying for this for years. Please stop! It infuriates me that my tax dollars fund this lobbyist group and all they do is find ways to tax the living Sh!t out of us. Nobody wants to pay more in taxes for another play palace. They really need their heads examined in Pierre.

By l3wis

10 thoughts on “UPDATE: Legislature wastes no time trying to increase taxes for a convention center in Sioux Falls”
  1. Scott, I dont know, but with some effort from the central Committee, we can kill this bill. But did you catch it at the end, the “City” would be required to establish a Capital Improvement Board” of 4 citizens and 1 city Councilor. When I read this the other day, I thought to myself, what names will the Mayor and City Council appoint to this board, the usual subjects…most likely.

  2. On another note, do you remember in ’22, when Republicans criticized Jamie for saying: “…. we need to find new things to tax?” Well, what is this? Haven’t the Republicans now found a new thing to tax as well?

  3. “What Mike is really saying is that Republicans will be fighting Republicans, which is always a good time”…..

  4. The flags are at half-mast. Coldness has moved the inauguration indoors. Fate, through such darkness, is illustrating what’s about to come. At least this time crowd size will not be an issue. Luckily, the tired protesters’ growing indifference, resignation, and apathy can also be hidden due to these dark realities. We are entering a political black hole in more ways than one, but such dark consumption of matter must matter if we are to survive. It’s as if the coldest of this reality is blanketing us from the embarrassment of a forced joy that most know is not good. But like a dormant seed amidst the darkness of calamity, we must pray for hope and renewal of a better time that will escape through the channel of this current consuming and apparent political black hole.

    VSG

    ( and Woodstock adds: “Wow!….. But I don’t think that black holes are ever a good thing”….. 🙁 )

  5. Calling a tax “an economic development tool” is like telling your wife that your alleged mistress is your aide.

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