Snow removal, outdoor pool, library changes among proposed city budget cuts

July 17, 2025

Snow removal might take longer while outdoor pools and libraries will be open less as part of city budget changes recommended to cover an expected drop in property tax revenue.

The city had to find $8 million to $10 million in savings within its general operating budget to covered cuts in property taxes approved by the state of South Dakota.

“I don’t want to be doing these things. I don’t want to have to be making some of these cuts, and, trust me, we looked at a lot of other things,” Mayor Paul TenHaken said. “These are the best of the worst.”

TenHaken will detail the 2026 operating budget next week but previewed some of the $6 million in proposed permanent cuts today.

“There’s no solutions, only tradeoffs,” he said.

They include phasing in city-owned and -operated motor graders for snow removal and phasing out contracted work, “which could result in some longer snow-clearing times,” TenHaken said. “It wouldn’t affect the quality for how we do snow removal. We’ll still do curb-to-curb in how we do snowplowing.”

Beginning next year, outdoor pools also will close after the first weekend in August, when “we see roughly almost a 70 percent drop in attendance after the first weekend in August … and we see a loss of staff,” he said.

Hours at Siouxland Libraries locations in Sioux Falls and Brandon will be reduced by two hours a day, opening an hour later and closing an hour earlier.

The city also will be closing its three school-based clinics that are tied to Falls Community Health because fewer than 5 percent of patients there are kids. Adults and kids can still be seen at the downtown location.

“Don’t think that we’re robbing a bunch of kids from getting access to health care,” TenHaken said. “That has been actually a poor-performing part of our clinical portfolio.”

Dental clinics will continue to stay open in schools “because that’s where we see the kids,” he said.

The city also will be phasing out nonrefrigerated outdoor ice rinks starting in 2026 because of declining attendance and unreliable weather. The combination has resulted in a cost per attendee that ranges from $30 to $170 per person, he added.

A review of city subsidies to nonprofits that have grown over time also will result in savings while streamlining what city funding is available through a grant process.

Staffing will be impacted too, TenHaken said. The city is not filling four open positions, including one in the mayor’s office, and is focused on reducing overtime across departments as well as travel and training.

“If someone leaves the city, if we have turnover, we’re not immediately filing the position,” TenHaken said. “We’re going to assess if we need to backfill.”

That won’t apply to public safety positions, he said.

While the revenue effects from property tax changes won’t surface until 2027, “the longer we wait, the deeper the wound,” TenHaken said, noting that the impact would multiply the longer the expenses were allowed to continue.

“We are being anticipatory with this.”

Sioux Falls is “already doing more with less,” he added, noting that the city ranks 14th of the 214 largest cities in the U.S. in total local government expenditures, including city, county and school district. That combines with being the seventh fastest-growing city, he said.

“We operate extremely lean in Sioux Falls.”

The city’s proposed adjustments also don’t include fee increases, TenHaken said.

“What we wanted to avoid as much as possible is raising fees, putting this $8 (million) to $10 million on the back of taxpayers,” he said. “I hate implementing a lot of these.”

The city also provided this more detailed rundown of proposed changes:

General government and operations

• Part-time and consulting alignment
• Full-time workforce (three FTEs eliminated: One each in mayor’s office, attorney’s office and communications
• Reduction of funding for subsidy agreements

Culture and recreation

• Library hours of service reduction for Sioux Falls and Brandon locations — up to two hours per day
• Outdoor pool closures after the first weekend in August
• Reimagine Midco Aquatics concession offerings
• Evolve the playground recreation program to incorporate the mobile recreation unit
• Phased closure of nonrefrigerated outdoor ice rinks

Streets, planning and development

• Alignment of deicing materials
• Phasing in city-owned motor graders
• Extend equipment replacement cycles, and reduce equipment rentals
• Credit card fees shifting to customers who choose to use this form of payment

Public safety and health

• Public health grants expired — three public health full-time employees reduced
• Health clinic collaboration with community partners and streamline citywide code enforcement
• Police and fire overtime reduction strategies
• Police tracking team and grant-funded coordinator eliminated; training reduced
• Fire program supplies and training reduced

 

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