Minnehaha County tax man bought fully-loaded SUV without approval

Equinox comes with heated leather seats, enhanced entertainment package

The head of Minnehaha County’s Equalization Office bought a fully loaded SUV for his office without county commission approval this month.

Chris Lilla, the director of Equalization, defended the purchase this week, saying the 2023 Chevy Equinox helped get his appraisers out of the office and evaluate property. The appraiser evaluations of homes and commercial property are used to calculate property taxes.

Those taxes have leaped in recent years, with the average homeowners seeing double-digit increases in the latest tax bills.

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