news – The Other 98 Cents

Rapid City’s Only Development Tool

Different cities have different development strategies.

Some cities prescribe development. They do studies, create zoning laws, and fund public infrastructure in the direction they want the city to develop.

In this case, a developer usually pays only a development fee or hook-up fee for the public infrastructure. Sioux Falls is a great example of this. Development is driven by the government planning function, which includes the input of elected representatives and always includes public meetings and opportunities to comment.

The positive side of this for the developer is that the public infrastructure is in place and the zoning of the land is predetermined. It can also be the negative side. A developer may want to purchase a parcel of land for commercial development and may be told that this is not acceptable to the city because the parcel is zoned residential or industrial.

Given the pros and cons, this is the more orderly method of development. This method also allows the public to experience the benefits of the city’s strategic planning function.

The other type of development is one we see in Rapid City. That is where the developer purchases land and then seeks to change the zoning in some cases to what they feel is appropriate. Also, the developer determines in which direction the city will expand. It could literally be north, south, east, or west.

The upside of this style of development is that the free market appears to be in charge. This tests the boundaries of limited government. This style of development appears to be freer and more driven by consumer demand as interpreted by the developer.

The downside of this style of development is that public infrastructure is rarely in place when the project is ready to go. The question becomes: whose responsibility is it to develop and fund public infrastructure?

Rapid City uses tax increment financing (TIF) to create funds for public infrastructure and/or required improvements to the area.

Although complicated, the simplest version of this procedure is:

A tax increment district is developed. This encompasses the property to be developed and a contiguous larger area with undeveloped property. Once approved, all the undeveloped property continues to pay property taxes, which go directly to the city, county and state. The developed property within the area also continues to pay property taxes to the city, county and state – just as always. As the undeveloped property develops, and more property taxes are collected, the incremental change in taxes flows through the county, into the developer’s loan.

A note worth emphasizing: the developer gets a loan from the bank of their choosing for required public improvements. If the property fails to develop or the area does not develop in a way that satisfies the loan requirements, the city is not on the hook—the developer is. The city is at 0% risk in this instance.

Tax increment financing arrangements can last up to 20 years, but in Rapid City they are typically paid off closer to the 10-year mark.

The opponents of tax increment financing falsely believe their property taxes will go up as a result.

They also falsely believe that TIFs are a government subsidy. This is not so, as the public infrastructure being constructed will belong to the government and the citizens within that government’s jurisdiction. The infrastructure will not belong to the developer.

There is a great amount of false information swirling about how tax increment financing hurts the taxpayer. The only people that it hurts are those that hate government and think it’s unfair for “rich developers” to have any financial tools available to them. They also wish to resist expansion. If you ask me, it’s a liberal mindset recast as a conservative complaint.

At this point, the usual suspects are gathering signatures and misinforming potential voters about the issue. A special election on this issue will cost voters around $100,000. That’s exactly $100,000 more than it will cost voters if the Liberty Land tax increment financing district is approved and moves forward.

Please get your information from reliable sources, and not the group of people who protest everything in our community.

Steve Allender served as Mayor of Rapid City from 2015-2023

Crime is Down, Cynicism is Up.

Yesterday, the Rapid City Police Department released crime and activity data within Rapid City’s jurisdiction. They were happy to report that 2024 is consistent with a recent downward trend in crime.

Surprisingly, the RCPD received negative feedback from social media users, some of whom expressed disbelief, with some even accusing the department of lying about the crime trends.

But is it surprising? Unfortunately not.

I have yet to find anyone who claims 2020 was the country’s best year on record; conversely, many claim it was the worst. There’s no doubt about it—2020 brought many challenges, but perhaps none as significant as those related to distrust of government and, more accurately, wholesale cynicism.

Part of me understands why people might have a hard time believing that crime can be down. During a simpler time, prior to every family having internet access, there was limited space for news coverage—a limited number of pages in the newspaper and a limited number of stories that could run in a half-hour news program.

Today, the capacity for news (and I use that term lightly) to reach your TV, computer or handheld device is virtually limitless. You have the opportunity to consume more news today than ever before. Much of this news is negative in nature: such as crime in the city or political division. This not necessarily good for you.

Based on 2020 and the few years following, many perceive that the world is well on its way to “Hell in a handbasket.” When data, such as that released by the RCPD, conflicts with the cynic’s perception, they may choose perception over reality. I believe this is a psychological misstep and the fuel that feeds rumors and conspiracy theories.

Keep this in mind: your perception is filtered through your many biases. Reality—in this case, data from reliable sources—has no filters and is presented to you as a matter of fact. Not everyone is not lying to you.

Believe it or not, crime is trending downward. People in Rapid City are blessed with highly professional law enforcement agencies, including the Rapid City Police Department, the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office, as well as other state and federal agencies.

If you want to learn more about crime in your city, perhaps you could become a part of the solution. There are always job openings within law enforcement organizations, and I know from experience they would welcome your interest and application. At the very least, consider enrolling in the RCPD’s Citizens Police Academy. There, you will get an in-depth look at the problems they face, behind-the-scenes operations and many other interesting aspects of the law enforcement profession.

Until then, the men and women who are giving the best years of their lives to protect you and your loved ones deserve your support.

The State of Our Governor

What an unfortunate week this has been for South Dakota and South Dakotans.

It began with our governor promoting her new book “No Going Back” almost nonstop on social media. The promotion included a video of her, presumably at home, recording the audio version of the same book.

Advanced copies of the book were given to media outlets as part of the promotion- and that’s when the controversy started.

In her book, the governor apparently told the story of shooting a goat and an “untrainable dog” named Cricket several years ago. She wrote the dog was aggressive, killed chickens, and that she “hated” that dog.

Farm and ranch life is different than most city dwellers might think, and putting down animals is part of an unfortunate reality. I have the sense that she could’ve told the story 20 years ago, and people would’ve understood, or at least held her to a different standard rather than the current one.

To boast of Cricket’s demise during a time when society is at the most sensitive (if not unstable) phase in our memory, first appeared to be risky. It was only risky until she began to defend it publicly- then it became ugly. At some point, the dialogue with the media brought out the worst in her. Her response raised doubts and eyebrows and undoubtedly drew more negative attention to her book.

Noem’s book documents stories of her scheduling, then canceling a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron because of a comment he made about Hamas. This one may not have been harmful by itself, but it was accompanied by a similar story that she had met North Korean Dictator Kim Jong-Un. Her story in the book included her interpretation that the dictator probably underestimated her, then it made light of the meeting, claiming she had been a children’s pastor and was used to staring down little dictators. Well, this was much too much for the media to accept.

Several organizations went on fact-finding missions and ultimately confirmed that the stories of the French president and the North Korean dictator were false. This is where things went from sad to tragic.

South Dakota’s Governor, the highest elected official in our state, was caught telling bald-faced lies. Rather than be held accountable, she took us through an ugly cycle which included bloviating, exaggerating, blaming others, denial, and ultimately embracing victimhood. Governor Noem refuses to be held accountable for her lies and is willing to tell more lies in an attempt to dig her way out of this mess. Meanwhile, South Dakotans need leadership.

I believe the straw that broke South Dakota’s back occurred on the May 5th edition of Face the Nation. Governor Noem was asked directly if she met with Kim Jong-Un in North Korea. She repeatedly refused to directly answer, instead deflecting to her world travels and opportunities to meet other world leaders. Most disturbingly, she stated, “As soon as this was brought to my attention, I certainly made some changes and looked at this passage… We went forward and have made some edits, so I’m glad this book is being released in a couple of days and that those edits will be in place and the people will have the updated version.” When asked again directly about meeting Kim Jong-Un, she again evaded the question and eventually said she would not talk about her meetings with world leaders. This charade was repeated the next day on CBS Morning News.

There’s been mention of a “ghostwriter” and blame was even cast on the editor at one point. But remember – she read her own book aloud for the recording of the audio version.

Anyone who’s been a parent has seen this type of behavior: storytelling; lying; bragging. Governor Noem‘s response to this entire debacle is childish, if not pathological. She can’t seem to help herself.

This past week, I personally have gone from being shocked, to annoyed, to angry, and now to sad and worried for the state of our State. The brazen and public lies of our governor now cast doubt on other claims made by her. I’m not sure it’s possible for South Dakotans to truly know who she is, or to trust her.

What’s more worrisome is that one would think those closest to the governor would have proofread the book and offered feedback. If this happened, those same proofreaders knew she had not met with the North Korean dictator, but either failed to say something about it, or she failed to listen to them. Either way, our lying governor has now exposed herself and her network of close followers as being untrustworthy.

It’s one thing to tell stories. It’s another thing to assume everyone listening is too dumb to tell the difference between an error and a lie and also between humility and hubris.