We don’t need an inflationary property tax increase.

Believe it or not, I don’t always agree with councilor Staggers, but he is spot on that we don’t need to increase property taxes with inflation. We are a growing city, we also have natural increases in property value. There is NO reason to stick it to property tax owners. Let’s take my little Casa. When I bought my home over 13 years ago I was paying about $475 a year, I now pay over $1,100. Think about that if you own something substantial. When you factor in actual inflation, opt-outs and home improvements, you are looking at taking it in the shorts. Also factor in I am single, don’t have kids in the school district and don’t commit crime, they are basically charging me for the ills and social costs of society. You wonder why people ask for TIFs like free coffee refills, property taxes are killing us.

Traditionally, when Sioux Falls policymakers are slated to boost tax rates as they adopt the next year’s budget, the action item is listed as “an ordinance … providing appropriations and the means of financing for the fiscal year.”

That’s not transparent enough, said Staggers, who’s bringing a measure before the council Tuesday to force proposed tax hikes to be listed on agendas as an ordinance “authorizing an increase in property taxes.”

Staggers said the average citizen doesn’t have time to research every item scheduled for council action, and oftentimes skimming titles is how they learn about what’s happening.

“It’s about transparency,” he said. “It seems like a very reasonable and sensible thing. It should be very clear when we’re having tax increases.”

And I would go farther to agree, being dishonest with the public about supposed tax increases is never good public policy. We wonder why people are moving to the burbs in drones?