South Dakotans are sick of their property taxes being ratcheted up year after year.
The steady uptick is a result of school district tax opt-outs, largely.
A property tax opt-out allows local school districts to exceed statutory limits on property tax revenue collections, enabling boards of education and the administrators that guide their decisions to raise additional funds. Some school districts pass opt-outs almost every year.
The continuous government money grab is bleeding taxpayers dry, and the public is pleading for relief. Thankfully, Senate Bill 85 can help. The bill would expand voter input on tax opt-outs.
Under current law, when a school board approves an opt-out, residents can collect petition signatures to refer the opt-out to a public vote. If five percent of the district’s registered voters sign the petition within 20 days of the opt-out’s publication, the school district must hold an election seeking voter approval for the tax increase proposal.
SB 85 — slated for consideration in a legislative committee Monday — would change that law, forcing all school district opt-outs to a public vote instead of the people having to petition for that privilege.
This is important because current law sets voters in many districts up for failure.
Last summer, the Sioux Falls School Board passed its sixth consecutive opt-out, which would allow them to collect more than $20 million in additional local funding through property taxes over 10 years. This and the District’s other opt-outs would have a cumulative effect of over $120 million in the next 10 years.
A group of more than 50 Sioux Falls citizens began circulating petitions. They had 20 days to gather approximately 5,500 signatures, which is an extremely difficult task.
In the end, they were able to collect 2,302 signatures, and the opt-out stood. Sioux Falls property owners were on the hook for an additional $20 million, and the only people who got to vote on it were the five school board members.
That seems like an exceptional amount of spending power in the hands of very few people.
If you want more influence on your property tax bill, it’s time to contact your legislators.
Amy BrunerMinnehaha County
