Brookings City Council Meeting: Budget Workshop, Proclamations, and Approvals on September 8, 2026
Brookings City Council Meeting: Budget Workshop, Proclamations, and Approvals on September 8, 2026
On September 8, 2026, the Brookings City Council held a regular meeting starting at 6:00 PM in the Council Chambers. The meeting featured a detailed budget workshop (Workshop #1) covering the 2027 proposed budget, approval of proclamations, reports from the SDSU Student Association and council ex-officio members, and several ordinance and resolution actions. All votes were unanimous unless noted.
Consent Calendar
- Approved the meeting agenda unanimously.
- Approved the consent agenda, which included: (6.A) City Council meeting minutes from August 25, 2026; (6.B) property tax abatement of $250.72 for Parcel #40995-00009-066-00; (6.C) property tax abatement of $4,222.09 for Parcel #40114-00400-010-00; (6.D) Temporary Alcohol / Special Event Alcoholic Beverage Licenses from existing license holders.
Public Comments & Testimony
- No public comments were made during the Open Forum or on any agenda items.
Proclamations & Reports
- Proclamation: Suicide Prevention Month – Mayor Oepke G. Niemeyer proclaimed September 2026 as Suicide Prevention Month. The proclamation highlighted that suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in South Dakota and the 2nd leading cause for ages 10-34, with a state rate of approximately 22 deaths per 100,000 residents in 2024. A representative from United Way accepted and emphasized community support and the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
- Proclamation: Welcoming Week – Mayor Niemeyer proclaimed September 10-19, 2026 as Welcoming Week, encouraging residents to participate in events including a welcoming celebration at the farmers market on September 12 and a new resident barbecue on September 15. Representatives from the Human Rights Commission and Brookings Multicultural Center accepted.
- Report: SDSU Student Association – Jackie Mollison, newly appointed Student Association Government Affairs Chair, reported on fall semester activities, including the upcoming Beef Bowl game and One Day for State fundraiser. She also invited a council member to attend monthly SA meetings on Mondays at 7 PM in the Lewis and Clark Room. Councilmember Duran expressed interest in continuing the initiative.
- Report: City Council Ex-Officio Reports – Councilmember Lisa Hager reported on the August 26 Brookings Health System Board of Trustees meeting. Highlights included a 41.5% increase in EMS responses since 2020; the fleet of five ambulances, 11 full-time paramedics, and 13 on-call staff; a 3-year lead time for ambulance orders (one ordered in 2024 will arrive in 2027); and the hospital being named to Forbes Top Hospitals by State for 2026. The foundation raised $30,000 from a fundraiser, aiming to purchase a Lucas 3 chest compression system.
Discussion Items
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Budget Workshop #1 (Item 4.A) – City Manager Paul Briseno presented a comprehensive overview of the 2027 proposed budget. Key points:
- Total proposed budget: $77 million, up from $72 million in 2026, a $4.5 million increase driven largely by projects.
- General fund: $23.7 million, a $700,000 increase; after subtracting wage study impacts, the increase is 1.4% (a “bare bones maintenance budget”).
- Revenue assumptions: Sales tax growth of 2.5% (very conservative), property tax growth of 3.32% (adding $146,000), bed/booze/board tax growth of 3% (adding $84,000).
- Expenditure increases: Police department personnel up $271,000 (largely due to wage study); fire department up $98,000; library up $78,000; parks and forestry up $183,000; administration up $97,000 (including increased city attorney contract). Public works shows a decrease due to last year’s HVAC expense, but personnel costs rose.
- The city plans to ask the school district for a more balanced cost-sharing for School Resource Officers (current city pays 75%, school 25% of $371,000 total cost).
- Enterprise funds: Liquor store revenue declining due to decreased drinking; golf course not self-sustaining and requires subsidies; airport subsidized by solid waste and CIP.
- Outside agency funding recommendations: Humane Society increased by CPI to $50,000; arts council recommended at $30,000 (requested $60,000-$65,000); Brookings Regional Growth Alliance increased to $911,000; Research Park decreased to $75,000 (requested $175,000); Dakota Bank Center increased to $447,000 to reflect true costs.
- A one-time negative $300,000 adjustment from the state for an overpayment in 2001-2023 was noted; reserves will cover it.
- The 10-year outlook shows a small gap between revenues and expenditures, indicating sustainability.
- Councilmember Wendell asked about the definition of wholesale trade (construction materials, raw goods) and praised the wage study frequency. Councilmember Specker clarified property tax cap of 3% CPI and 3% growth (maximum 6% increase). Councilmember Tilton Byrne questioned the Humane Society line item and suggested relocating it to the police budget; she also asked about the United Way allocation process.
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Contracts/Change Orders (Item 8.A) – City Engineer Charlie Richter presented Resolution 26-058 for Change Order No. 1 for the 2025-11 STI Capital Street and 32nd Avenue Sanitary Sewer and Road Project. The change order adds $60,253.81 (11% increase) for additional gravel, curb/gutter, and concrete approach due to unforeseen subgrade conditions. The project remains under budget overall. The resolution was approved unanimously.
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Ordinance First Readings (Items 9.A and 9.B) – Finance Director Ashley Rench presented Ordinance 26-028, certifying the 2027 property tax levy of $4,554,880 (based on prior year $4,408,219, plus 0.827% growth and 2.5% CPI). City Manager Briseno presented Ordinance 26-029, authorizing Budget Amendment No. 6 to the 2026 budget, which includes a $307,927 payment to Linchpin Corporation for the mutual termination of the armory development agreement. The funds will come from 3B reserves. Both ordinances had first readings; second readings and action will occur on September 22, 2026.
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Public Hearings and Second Readings (Items 10.A, 10.B, 10.C) –
- 10.A: Ordinance 26-025 (Lost, Unclaimed, or Abandoned Property) was approved. Lieutenant Jonathan Weinrich explained the police department’s current process for handling 100-200 items annually. The ordinance establishes a 90-day window for return attempts, with a 30-day notice period, after which items may be destroyed or donated. Councilmember Duran asked about dedicated storage space; the new public safety center will include a designated area.
- 10.B: Ordinance 26-027 (Conditional Use Permit for a counseling office at 1103 3rd St in an R-2 district) was approved. Community Development Director Mike Strucker noted the planning commission recommended approval unanimously. The office will operate Monday-Friday during normal business hours with adequate off-street parking.
- 10.C: Resolution 26-057 (Termination of the Development Agreement with Linchpin Corporation) was approved. City Manager Briseno presented the resolution, noting that higher construction costs, interest rates, and a challenging lending environment made the project financially unviable. The city will reimburse Linchpin $307,927 for work completed on city-owned property (asbestos abatement, mold remediation, gas line relocation). Councilmember Wendell thanked Linchpin for taking a “big swing” and noted the reimbursement reflects necessary investment. Councilmember Duran confirmed staff will bring forward new options for the armory property, possibly as early as September 22.
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Other Business (Item 11.A) – Resolution 26-059 (Dissolving Tax Increment District Number 12) was approved. Mike Strucker explained that since the property (armory) remains city-owned, no taxes were collected, and the district is being dissolved as a formality.
Key Outcomes
- All agenda items were approved unanimously, including the consent agenda, change order, ordinances, and resolutions.
- The 2027 budget workshop will continue on September 22, 2026, with a focus on the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP), fee schedule, and further discussion of the 10-year CIP.
- The second readings for Ordinance 26-028 (property tax levy) and Ordinance 26-029 (budget amendment) will occur on September 22, 2026, along with action on the Linchpin reimbursement.
- Future topics announced: park code changes for e-bikes and scooters, presentation by BMU, and outside agency presentations on September 15 work session.
- The council will receive a report on license plate readers and a progress report at the September 22 meeting.
Meeting Transcript
Call this meeting in order. Please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. All right. So uh thank you all for coming tonight. Uh will our acting city clerk please call the roll. All council members are present. Councilmember Avery is absent tonight, and City Attorney Vince Jones is present via conference call line. Thank you, Samantha. Action to approve the agenda. Entertain a motion to approve the agenda. Are there any comments from the public on anything on our agenda for this evening? Council questions, comments. Please call the roll. Duran. Aye. Hager? Aye. Neemaier? Aye. Specker. Aye. Tiltonburn? Aye. Wendell. Aye. Okay. So we're going to move right on to uh item four, which is the budget workshop number one. Uh we'll be reviewing the budget overview, operating budget, and outside agencies. Paul Rasino, our city manager, will present this item. While he's coming down, uh the budget for workshop number two will be on September 22nd. And workshop number three will also uh be uh in October thirteenth if needed. Uh hopefully by that time we'll have our budget set in place and and uh accepted and voted in for uh next year's budget by November. Go ahead, Paul. Thank you, Mayor, City Council members, and I apologize in advance for everyone who is here for proclamations and have to sit here through the in-budget presentation. So I'll try to move fast, but please make sure and ask any questions you have. First and foremost, I want to thank all the department heads and employees who helped put this uh budget together for you guys tonight, including uh Ashley, who's done a tremendous job. She actually put this presentation together, and I'm just the the voice of the budget, but she did a phenomenal job as did Sam and Johnny and the rest of the department heads, including the employees who helped find the money to make these things happen that we're gonna present tonight. Um with you this with that said before you anyone who has questions about the budget, feel free to submit those questions to the city, of course, to you as council. All this information that we're gonna present tonight is online, uh including the budget detail. And of course, if they want to see any of the budget information from the past, that information is also uh online as well. So as we look at the the workshop schedule for the next three to four months, once again we've been working on this for about six months now. It's a nine-month process. September 8th tonight, we're gonna go over at a very high level uh the three main funds, the uh general fund, the special revenue fund, as well as the enterprise fund. Next meeting September 22nd, we're gonna go over to the capital improvement fund, and then we're also have an optional October 13th meeting in case council wants to dive deeper into any other one topic or fund. I will also note that September 15th, this next work session next Tuesday, we have invited outside agencies to come and present if they should want to present their budget to you as well uh to be heard uh throughout this process. That's something we traditionally do every year. Looking beyond that, uh, we have tonight the first reading of the the mill levy for the property tax levy, once again that's the first reading. Second reading will be held September 22nd. We'll talk a little about a little bit about that tonight, what that means for us. The first budget ordinance reading will occur uh October 27th.
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