What to watch in Mayor Paul TenHaken's budget address

Megan Raposa -

Simplified: Sioux Falls Mayor Paul TenHaken is expected to lay out his budget priorities to the City Council on Thursday. This includes his $812 million five-year capital spending plan as well as millions in surplus and federal funding.

Why it matters

  • City spending is tax spending, so before you let your eyes glaze over the numbers, remember your tax dollars are behind all of this.
  • We've already seen the five-year capital spending plan, but TenHaken will dive in to what the city should spend this coming year, specifically.
  • That'll include any new hires, any street projects, and any of the multiple projects seeking COVID-19 relief funds. Councilors have heard about several in recent months ranging from new tennis courts to a new building at the USD Discovery District.

What to watch

TenHaken described his five-year capital plan as very "meat and potatoes" with a focus on infrastructure, so it stands to reason his annual budget will bring more of the same.

It's likely the budget will have an infrastructure focus, so one thing to watch is road projects, as well as spending on water reclamation, an ongoing priority for TenHaken.

Another thing to watch as the City Council takes hold of the budget for final decisions will be how some of the surplus/federal COVID-relief money is spent. There are several groups looking for a piece of the pie, but it remains to be seen where the investments will be made.

How to watch

You can watch TenHaken's address live at 3 p.m. Thursday on CityLink. Or, you can go down to Carnegie Town Hall and watch the speech in person.