TenHaken puts focus on kids, families in 2023 budget

Budgeting for what he calls a “hyperinflationary environment” where revenue is unpredictable and the demands of growth are high, Mayor Paul TenHaken will present a $646.2 million budget for the city of Sioux Falls for 2023 on Thursday.

TenHaken’s administration is banking on a 20 percent across-the-board cost increase for city projects and is predicting a 4 percent increase in sales tax revenue that helps fund many of them.

That’s conservative in looking at previous performance, but “it’s a little bit of a calculated guess given the times we’re in,” he said.

The big-ticket items that will draw attention in Thursday’s presentation to the Sioux Falls City Council likely will include downtown investments such as a rehabilitated Sixth Street bridge, which was included in TenHaken’s capital plan submitted in late June, and continued improvements to Falls Park and the River Greenway, including Jacobson Plaza.

“Downtown is going to crush it next year,” TenHaken said, while adding the budget also acknowledges “we have catch-up to do” in other areas of the city.

“A good example is 85th and Cliff where the new (Harrisburg) Freshman Academy is going, and we have to put money into the roadway to support that growth,” he said.

The 2023 budget also will set the stage for a bond that will include multiple swimming pool replacements and upgrades, along with a new clubhouse at Elmwood Golf Course.

“Our debt position is very good, which allows us to think about an aquatics bond,” he said. “There’s a lot of excitement around aquatics. The south side wants a pool, the Midco (Aquatic Center) has been a home run, so we’re looking at if we need another indoor aquatics facility that can be used year-round. Those are a few of the overarching comments.”

The bond reflects his increased focus on creating city programs and services designed to support kids and families, he said.

Another example is a $400,000 proposed increase to transit funding as part of a program that will allow kids to ride city buses for free.

And, the budget includes a city contribution to the future skate park at Nelson Park and continued investment in the bike trail with a segment from Lien Park to Bahnson Avenue.

New hires

The city budget includes proposed funding for 30 new full-time positions.

Four of those are police officers, in keeping with an annual effort to grow the force along with the population.

Some of the more unique new additions include an arts coordinator, which was a recommendation from a pre-pandemic arts task force.

“They said we need someone at the city level focused on the totality of the arts, culture, entertainment in our community,” TenHaken said.

The city is proposing to add other positions that support the demands of growth, including two building permit techs to help accelerate review of building plans and a dedicated crew to focus on repair of concrete roads.

Additionally, the Library Department is slated to receive a position that will focus on early literacy programming and early literacy youth initiatives.

“When we don’t have state-funded early childhood education and state-funded preschool, we asked the city to look at what’s our responsibility to make sure kids are being prepared,” TenHaken said.

There’s also proposed funding for an emergency management coordinator who will complement the new Public Safety Training Center but also reflect the unprecedented number of times the city has had to activate its emergency operations center in recent years.

“We also have some part-time wage increases we’re proposing for our part-time staffers as we try to stay competitive,” TenHaken said, pointing to the success of a wage increase in attracting lifeguards, for instance.

“It moved the needle in terms of applicants.”

Other departments also are being restructured slightly. The Innovation & Technology Department, which is currently without a director, is being reworked into two divisions — technology and civic analytics — while the city’s communications function is moved into the Human Resources Department but reports up through the mayor’s office.

The City Council holds budget hearings with departments in August to further review the requests and will vote on the budget in September.

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