PIERRE, S.D. — A panel of lawmakers assembled to study property taxes is tempering hopes their work will do much to bring relief to South Dakotans.
Others, though, are warning a perfunctory effort from Pierre to address rising land valuations and increasingly burdensome yearly tax bills will result in voters taking matters into their own hands.
A summer study on “property tax assessment methodology” — the South Dakota Legislature Executive Board’s response to ongoing calls for property tax reduction — convened for the first time this week, delving into the tax formula that generates billions each year for townships, cities, counties, school districts and the state.
But committee leaders are cautioning no recommendation for a tax formula overhaul is coming.
“When you go into a broad study, it is hard to get anything done because it’s such a big topic,” said Sen. Randy Deibert, serving as co-chairman of the property tax summer study along with Rep. Drew Peterson.
Deibert, a former county commissioner in Lawrence County, was referring to the complicated nature of assessing taxable valuations based on land use and type coupled with a bureaucracy of 66 counties that enforce and collect property taxes on behalf of all property tax benefactor governments.
The scope of the study, as articulated by the Legislature’s leadership committee, is also narrow, limiting the committee to vet policies to “increase the efficiency or effectiveness of assessment … with the goals of improving the accuracy and consistency of real estate assessment.”
That means the committee might want the Legislature to make tweaks and adjustments in how South Dakota’s tax code is administered. For instance, committee members Monday discussed the reality that six different computer software programs are used among the state’s county assessors. And with fewer than 10 positions in the Bureau of Finance & Management’s property tax division, the ability of state regulators to ensure county assessors are operating uniformly has been questioned. A recommendation for more state oversight is possible.
“Assessors have a lot of leeway,” Rep. Marty Overweg said. “I am afraid we may need to put more rules in.”
⌊ Property Tax Is A Hot Topic At Weekend Forum ⌋
The Legislature’s loudest advocates for property tax reform say recommendations that don’t promise a lower tax bill for South Dakotans won’t be enough.
Sen. Jack Kolbeck, who opted not to run for state House this year after terming out in the Senate, said what the committee recommends could have implications on elections in November and beyond.
“The people are watching this,” said Kolbeck, who was not chosen to serve on the committee. “The people that campaigned on property tax relief, I’ll remind them of that.”
Rep. Trish Ladner agrees. She is not on the property tax reform committee but was at a conference on the same topic in Nebraska Monday. State lawmakers there are holding a special session this year to address ever-rising property taxes, Ladner noted.
“It is beyond just wanting it for people, they need it,” she said. “We have to do something. If we don’t do it, I think it could be like what Senate Bill 201 was at the ballot box. That is just the temperature I am getting from the public.”
The committee next meets on Aug. 13.
