South DaCola

Editorial Cartoonist from South Dakota

October 2018

Sioux Falls

Bloomberg gives Sioux Falls some love

l3wis 4Comments

While this article gives kudos to our massive growth (mostly in people) and talks about taxpayers investing in business, what the article doesn’t mention is the massive separation of rich and poor and how the two largest growth groups are those who make over $100K and those who are living in poverty (working poor).

I will still argue that growth for growth’s sake will eventually bite us in the rear. We are already seeing this in our school system that has almost half of it’s student population on FREE or reduced lunches and the fast and steady growth of our food banks and homeless shelters.

So while growth does help to produce NEW wealth, it also has a see saw affect on the poor.

SF City Council Sioux Falls TIFs

UPDATE: TIF History Presentation

l3wis 3Comments

FF 1:38:15 – To watch my RANT on TIFs

There will be a presentation at the Sioux Falls City Council informational meeting at 4 PM on TIF History in Sioux Falls (DOC: TIF-History-SF )

You will notice that the mention of blighted property or affordable workforce housing isn’t even mentioned anymore (the original reason TIFs were used). Know they are being used for Market Rate housing, retail and even multi-million dollar condos at Washington Square.

While I do understand the increased value AFTER the TIF’s mature, some of them won’t mature for another 10-14 years.

We really need to get back to the original purpose of TIF’s or stop granting them. I think developers do very well in Sioux Falls, which is awesome, we certainly don’t need to subsidize developers with property tax rebates especially when we are talking out bonds for jails, schools and water plants. It’s very fiscally irresponsible for us to be handing out property tax rebates to wealthy developers when we are taking out over a HALF-BILLION in bonds.

Developers Development Elections Harrisburg School District School Funding SF School District Sioux Falls Taxes

Harrisburg School District proposing a $40 Million bond with NO tax increases

l3wis 12Comments

I know, you must be scratching your head a little, as am I. How can the Harrisburg school district propose a $40 million dollar bond without a tax increase? Oh, I don’t know, it’s that little thing called GROWTH!

Rasmussen said there are enough new homes and businesses in the district to support the proposed $40 million dollar bond vote without increasing taxes.

This was my argument about the SFSD bond, with record breaking building permits for over 6 years and the massive growth in Sioux Falls, why would we have to increase property taxes for our bond? Or better yet just build the schools out of the capital outlay without bonding and paying a $100 million in interest. How can a small community like Harrisburg figure out this simple math problem and NOT Sioux Falls? Sometimes arrogance gets in the way of prudence.

I think it would be safe to assume that the Harrisburg bond will pass the 60% threshold easily, especially with NO tax increases. It will just be interesting to see if they hit 85%. Yeah right.

Foundation Park Legacy Developments Sioux Falls

Flopdation Park turning into One Big Reefer

l3wis 9Comments

Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad to see there is continued development at Flopdation Park. There was an announcement today that Nordica will expand warehouse space at the site.

But am I the only one thinking after Sioux Falls Taxpayers, Minnehaha County taxpayers, and South Dakota state taxpayers floated millions in infrastructure (well over $50 million) towards the development park we only got a handful of warehouse jobs and some storage for ice cream and cottage cheese?

What happened to all the manufacturing jobs? The Bio-Tech jobs? Good paying jobs in general? You know, all these promises written on wet toilet paper without a signature?

We were buffaloed once again about high paying tech jobs to sucker us for millions in infrastructure to support some pallet humpers.

And it’s the same hucksters that were involved in other taxpayer bailout schemes in our fine community. Legacy developments who is behind the public/private partnership scam with the DTSF parking ramp after skirting any responsibility in illegal asbestos removal and the collapse of the Copper Lounge building is behind the WinChill warehouses.

I think it is time the fine taxpayers of this community send these fine folks a bill for the millions we GAVE them in FREE infrastructure. We know they certainly won’t be using their massive profits to pay decent wages so they might as well pay us back. I’m sure they will come up with another chameleon LLC scam to skirt payment.

I’m still thinking a new casino by Royal River at that location would have been a better economic impact.

Who wants some very expensive ice cream?

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