You'll probably notice proposed cuts to city services

Simplified: A visibly frustrated Mayor Paul TenHaken on Thursday detailed his plans to close pools early, shorten library hours, slow down snow plowing, give less to local nonprofits, close outdoor ice rinks and close school-based community health clinics. It's all part of a strategy to let the community know the true cost of property tax cuts.

Why it matters

TenHaken's proposed budget cuts are a direct reaction to state lawmakers' decision to cap the property tax growth local cities, counties and schools can experience.
- Essentially, this means that while some property owners won't experience their taxes going up as quickly as they have been, it also limits the city's ability to collect enough in taxes to support the growing population in the coming years.
The impacts of those changes start with a proposed $6 million in cuts in the 2026 budget. For context, the overall city budget is over $770 million – but the segment affected by property taxes (and where the cuts must come from) is a much smaller piece of the pie. The city estimated about $91 million in property tax revenue this year, per budget documents.
TenHaken told Sioux Falls Simplified that the cuts are strategically aimed at impacting the average citizen. He said if he just "lays off people behind the scenes," no one will notice, and it won't mean anything. But if someone who's used to going to the story hour at the library at 9 a.m. doesn't get to do that anymore, they'll notice and ultimately call the mayor to complain.
- And TenHaken said he'll encourage them to then call their state lawmakers and ask them for changes to property tax laws.

"You have to make it real for people," TenHaken said. "That's why people have to take notice ... That is part of the strategy – that the community needs to know this is not a city decision."

Tell me more about the proposed cuts

TenHaken is expected to give his final budget address next week, and while the specifics have yet to be released, he did preview some of the proposed cuts he plans to make.

Those cuts include:

Permanently eliminating a few open positions,
Reduction of library services (cutting off up to two hours a day of library access),
Closing outdoor pools after the first weekend in August,
Closing school-based health clinics,
Phasing out contract help with snow removal – essentially slowing down the process of plowing streets,
Reducing overtime, particularly in police and fire.

It's unclear to what degree the City Council will support TenHaken's proposed cuts. Council Chair Rich Merkouris said he appreciates the mayor's commitment to transparency and communicating what these cuts will mean, but he's not sure cuts are the right way to motivate the public to take action.

"Right now, we're in more of a defensive posture than we are laying out a vision of what we'd like to do and why this is the appropriate tax level for our community," Merkouris said.

What happens next?

TenHaken is expected to present his entire budget on Thursday, and then it'll ultimately be up to the Sioux Falls City Council to decide what stays and what goes in a final budget expected to be approved early this fall.

Council Vice Chair Jennifer Sigette said she really hopes to hear from the public about these proposed cuts.

"I’m really curious to know what the public’s going to say," Sigette said. "We tend to hear from some fo the same loud voices. I’m hoping, since these are things the broader community uses, we’ll start hearing from people who don't necessarily typically reach out to councilors."