Controversial ordinance update first reading as Rapid City’s Vision Fund could see ‘defunded account’

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KEVN) - The first reading for the rewording of Rapid City’s capital improvements and vision fund ordinance passed by a close margin at the city council meeting Monday; it passed with a five-to-three vote.

If the ordinance change goes all the way through, it will give the council more power over what to do with the vision funds and the public less of a voice-over on how they would want those funds used.

The vision fund ordinance currently says that a citizen committee would have to review vision fund projects before the city council would vote on whether to fund them.

The changes to the ordinance in question would make the review by the citizen committee optional, so the council would have the authority to establish procedures for approval of the vision account funds for each plan, giving the council the option to decide on how those funds would be awarded for that round.

Another change to the ordinance would be the possible use of those funds for endowments or economic development purposes.

“I am highly in support of taking some of this money to catch up on some of these infrastructure projects that we’ve gotten behind on over the years. I’m in support of putting some of this money into economic development,” said Rapid City Common Council Ward 4 councilman John Roberts.

Roberts added that some of the projects that have come out of the fund have had to be supported by the general fund and have caused the city some strain.

“The Vision Fund has gotten us into an issue, especially if we look at parks and rec., because we build all these wonderful projects but there’s no O&M costs that were built into them,” explained Roberts. “So, we do tens of millions of dollars, if not hundreds of millions of dollars, worth of projects, and then we have to support them over the next eternity out of the general fund.”

While some of the other council members agreed to an extent, this point didn’t sway three of the council members, who were left confused by some of the wording in the ordinance. Some are even asking, instead of using the vision funds for those economic developments, why not look for better ways for the city to do more with less money?

“I guess I challenge the mayor, rather than looking for an opportunity to raise some available funds for some other projects, to look at ways to be more efficient and come back to us with ways we could save money and do more things with less money rather than just continue to spend money,” said Rapid City Common Council Ward 3 councilman Greg Strommen. “I think the purpose of this is obviously, and I don’t think it’s any secret, to defund the Vision Fund account to the point where it’s really every five years that it’s going to be basically meaningless to have the citizen-driven decisions being made, and so I don’t think this is in the best interest of the city.”

The vote on Monday was the first reading for the change in the ordinance, and it will still need a second reading before it can be implemented.

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