City Finance Officer Marilyn Wilson said Monday evening at City Hall that the city's firstquarter sales-tax collections grew by a "surprising" 9.71 percent over 2008.
The surprise comes from the apparent lack of impact that the ongoing national economic recession has had on the collections. The recession has impacted other aspects of the Mitchell economy, including the unemployment rate, which at 5.1 percent is nearly twice as high as it was one year ago.
The surprise also comes because reports from the state Department of Revenue and Regulation show a different trend in Mitchell's sales taxes. The department's reports say that municipal taxes due to Mitchell grew 2.34 percent in January as compared to January 2008, but fell 1.87 percent in February compared to February 2008. The March report is not yet posted on the department's Web site.
Mayor Lou Sebert discounted the state reports Monday evening.
"You can go on the computer and get different sales taxes," Sebert said. "My first year as mayor I tried to figure it out, but I couldn't figure it out. I don't do that anymore, because it's not what we get."
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Councilman Scott Houwman said he was not surprised by the positive trend in sales tax collections.
"This doesn't surprise me at all," he said. "We're South Dakotans and we solve our own problems. We're not going to participate in the recession."
Councilman Jeff Smith said the numbers perhaps indicate that, during the recession, people in Mitchell and the surrounding area are shopping closer to home.
Councilwoman Geri Beck questioned the timeliness of the numbers. She asked whether the data from the first quarter actually represents sales from the last quarter of 2008, but she did not receive a direct response.
"These are the actual checks we get from the state," Sebert said.
The city collects a 2 percent tax on sales within city limits. An additional 1 percent tax is added to lodging, alcoholic beverages and prepared food. Collections of that additional tax grew by 3.12 percent in the first quarter, Wilson said.
In other business Monday evening, the City Council:
- Approved, during the Public Properties Committee meeting, the elimination of one public parking space to allow Craig Smith better access to his property at 115 W. First Ave.
- Approved, during the Public Works Committee meeting, a plan by Public Works Director Tim McGannon to reorganize his department following a recent retirement and save the city an estimated $71,000 over the next 2½ years.
- Approved, sitting as the Board of Adjustment, the application of Scott Rumbolz for a variance to construct a garage at 725 S. Minnesota St.
- Approved, sitting as the Board of Adjustment, the application of Hitch & Buggy Trailer Sales & Equipment for a conditional use permit to operate a trailer-sales business at 2300 W. Havens Ave.
- Set, sitting as the Board of Adjustment, April 20 as the date for a hearing on the application of Larry Hohn for a variance to construct a garage at 1320 E. First Ave.
- Awarded bids for a Foster Street lift-station project, a Norway Avenue sidewalk project, a landfill expansion project, a Sanborn Boulevard curb-and-gutter project and a cemetery skid-loader purchase, and tabled the awarding of a bid for a bike-path bridge project.
- Adopted a resolution, pursuant to a resolution by the Prosper Township board, vacating a dedicated access or road described legally as 66 feet by about 628 feet between lots 4 and 5, Shadow Valley Acres Addition.
- Adopted a plat of Lot 8 of the Island First Addition.
- Adopted a resolution "conveying" a small piece of property acquired for last summer's Railroad Avenue project to the Mitchell Area Development Corporation, for use as a potential building site by an MADC client.
- Conducted the first of two required readings of an ordinance that would rezone lots 6-13, Block 19, FM Greene's Addition -- the area of the future location of Longfellow Elementary -- from a Single-Family Residential District to a Public Lands District.
- Conducted the first of two required readings of an ordinance that would supplement the culture and recreation portion of the general fund with $15,000 for lawn bowling, with funding from general fund cash; and would supplement the swimming pool portion of the parks, recreation and forestry budget with $7,500 for pool drains, with funding from park fund cash.
- Set April 20 as the date for hearings on the application of the Mitchell School District for an alley vacation and a rezoning in conjunction with the Longfellow Elementary project.
- Set April 20 as the date for hearings on Palace City Lions Club applications for a specialevent malt-beverage license for July 15-19 at the rodeo grounds for a rodeo; a specialevent malt-beverage license Aug. 26-30 at the Corn Palace and City Hall for the Corn Palace Festival; a temporary liquor license Sept. 18-20 at the Corn Palace for the Polka Festival; and a temporary liquor license Sept. 26 at the Corn Palace for a car show.
- Set April 30 as the date to receive and consider bids for a police shooting-range project.
- Approved an automatic supplement to the capital projects fund for the new soccer complex in the amount of $1,100 from a donation of funds from brick fundraiser sales.
- Approved hiring engineering and architectural professional services for phase two of the soccer complex project.
- Approved Public Safety Department grant applications for stimulus funds.
- Approved requests from the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and the Shawn Sandoval Invitational Baseball Tournament to conduct raffles.
- Abated taxes in the amount of $8,716.64 to Thomsen Enterprises LLC for Lot 3, Highland Business Park Addition "due to transfer of property."
- Approved the paying of estimates and bills.
- Conducted a closed session that was added as a lastminute agenda addendum and was described only as "permitted by SDCL 1-25-2(3)" -- the section of state law that allows executive sessions for "consulting with legal counsel or reviewing communications from legal counsel about proposed or pending litigation or contractual matters."
