It took the property tax discussion to get this out in the open, TIFS ARE NOT GOOD, ESPECIALLY IF USED ONLY FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT;
“That told me they were not providing the oversight on these TIFs, that they were just rubber stamping them,” Sibson said.
Well, Sibby, that is what communities across the state do. They are sold a shiny ball and they approve it.
“If they’re not done correctly, they end up being simply subsidies for certain private entities. That’s my overall concern,” Sibson said.
And that is ALL they are these days. Developer Welfare. Parking ramps and condos? How does this benefit the general public? I think if reverted back to Industrial and Affordable Housing which combined only make up 8% of TIFs across the country, you would see more value in them. I think that is what the State Legislature plans to do, or at least make an attempt at changing the law. Good Luck! Sioux Falls and Rapid City and all other larger communities in SD will fight you tooth and nail on this one.
The $125 million Libertyland TIF in Rapid City, with only ~$5 million dedicated to public infrastructure improvements, is a blatant gift of future tax revenue to a developer.
Yet the chamber cronies (many of whom would profess to be “free market capitalist ‘republicans'”) line up to clap like trained seals in support of tax subsidy for this project. All in the false guise of economic development.
From the SD Newswatch article:
“Estes said he built a road in Rapid City that was funded with a TIF,”
Public road infrastructure projects are usually placed to competitive bids. In this case it appears that the developer got the job in order that he could incorporate income from payment from the City for road construction into the financial feasibility of the project.
Did the tax paying public get fair value on the construction of the road? Likely not, especially if this was a no bid situation.
“… and due to the success of the project, the city is building a fire department, law enforcement center, and a city park.”
Assuming these were built during the life of the TIF (i.e. no additional real estate taxes are collected from the TIF project into the tax coffers of the local municipality and County governments), very specific examples of how a TIF places burden of additional cost to other taxpaying property holders.
“… proponents say that in a low-tax state, TIFs are a much-needed option.
‘They’re one of the few tools in the toolbox for the developer to get projects built in South Dakota,’ said Doyle Estes, a Rapid City lawyer and real estate developer.”
What he and others who use the “one of the few tools in the toolbox” argument are really saying –
“If South Dakota had an income tax, I would have no compunction in receiving more money to pay for my project directly from State government coffers.”
This is a classic example of how, back in ’21, some Sioux Falls business leaders, like the Chamber, were trying to get up to 12 legislative districts that involved Sioux Falls. At the time, there were 10, and now it’s down to 9, but the more legislative districts that are a part of Sioux Falls, the greater likelihood that these districts would have Sioux Falls politicians in those legislative seats, and thus, more votes for the SF business community and keeping things like TIFs enforced…. 🙂 #KeepTheUrbanRuralDivide #RespectBothConstituencies
( and Woodstock adds: “12 LDs?”…. ( …. “Well, hell, that’s more than a 1/3 of the state senate just from Soo Foo” ….. 🙁 ….. )