BROOKINGS — Judging from some stores in town, it’s already spooky season in the form of Halloween, but the Brookings City Council was dealing with a different kind of season on Tuesday night — namely, budget season.

The city’s proposed budget for the coming year adds up to $72,849,780, an increase of $2.5 million from the current budget. That number might change, though, as Tuesday’s discussion was just the first of three planned, with a second public meeting on Sept. 24 and potentially a third on Oct. 8 as well. The current timeline shows final approval coming no earlier than Nov. 12.

Deputy City Manager Jacob Meshke’s presentation sought to break down the overall budget into several, more digestible, parts for the City Council and public:

General Fund

This fund’s projected portion of the 2025 budget is $21,860,776, an increase of $474,720 from the current-year total. It includes city operations such as public safety, public works, and parks, recreation and forestry. It’s worth noting that:

• The departments noted above account for roughly 73% of the fund’s costs
• The addition of two new positions — a master mechanic and an associate planner — are accounted for in the proposal
• The master mechanic position is intended to help the street division within public works
• The associate planner is an entry-level job with community development

Revenue for the fund comes from sales taxes (46.9%), property taxes (19.4%) and transfers (15.5%). Altogether, those sources supply approximately 82% of the fund’s income.

Special Revenue/Debt Service/Tax Increment Finance Funds

These funds must be used for specific purposes, according to information from the city, which are legally restricted or committed. The proposed allocation here for 2025 is $12.4 million, a boost of $2 million from this year. Some points to note regarding this expenditure change:

• Projects typically drive changes to the special revenue and debt service funds
• There’s a 2% decrease in Dacotah Bank Center expenses because of cuts in ancillary expenses and the management fee
• The storm drainage fund is increasing by 75% to pay for projects identified in the recently adopted Storm Water Master Plan
• The city’s subsidy for the Dacotah Bank Center is proposed to go from $260,000 now to $390,000 in 2025
• TIF expenditures are up 105% because of the performances in TIF No. 7 and TIF No. 11

Enterprise Funds

These funds, whose expenditures are projected at $24.9 million for 2025, are meant to operate in business manner focusing on cost recovery. The projection for the coming year is a decrease of more than $480,000 from this year. Why? You can thank large projects at Brookings Regional Airport (parallel taxiway construction) and Edgebrook Golf Course (water source improvements) that were budgeted for this year.

As part of his presentation, Meshke included information on how property taxes in Brookings are divvied up among governments. Using a $350,000 residence that pays $4,765 in taxes as an example, he noted that:

• Brookings School District gets 54% of that total, or $2,572
• Brookings County receives 29%, or $1,401
• Brookings itself acquires 17%, or $792

Information in the presentation also included these tidbits:

• Sales tax growth is projected to continue, reaching $10,243,779 (including $100,000 from ongoing Brookings Municipal Utilities endeavors), an increase from the 2023 total of $9,711,761
• The mill rate in Brookings tops out at 2.262, putting it far lower that Huron’s mill rate of 7.244, Aberdeen’s rate of 5.527 and Mitchell’s 4.533 rate; only Watertown’s is lower at 1.76, with Spearfish clocking in at 2.063
• The budget proposal does not include any potential impact if voters approve Initiated Measure 28, which would remove the state sales tax from groceries and could, depending on who you ask, also affect the city’s ability to collect said sales tax

The next budget meeting on Sept. 24 will focus on the 10-year capital improvement plan and the city’s fee schedule.

— Contact Mondell Keck at mkeck@brookingsregister.com.