Sioux Falls, SD (KELO-AM) Finance Director Tracy Turback says the City of Sioux Falls ended 2013 with a budget surplus in the millions of dollars. On Tuesday, he presented the City Council with preliminary 2013 year-end financial results .
Turback says that key economic indicators clearly reflect a robust and growing local economy. Construction activity set a new all-time high with more than $588.2 million in construction permits issued in 2013. This strong building activity led to a solid 8 percent sales tax growth and an unemployment rate of 3.1 percent.
The City maintained its consistent track record of fiscal responsibility. Prudent budgetary management and higher than anticipated revenues allowed the City to weather a historic spring ice storm and still add to reserves for the fourth year in a row. Although originally budgeting to use $3.8 million in operating reserves in 2013, the City ended the year by adding $0.4 million to reserves. Turbak states, “City leaders are committed to living within our means and putting every taxpayer dollar to the best possible use to provide quality services to our citizens. This provides the public a terrific value for their tax dollar.”
The City invested $129.3 million in capital improvement projects in 2013, which focused on improving traffic flow by expanding and rebuilding streets, new neighborhood parks, continued construction of the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center, and a variety of other key infrastructure improvements. During the year, 70 projects were substantially completed with another 98 projects in various stages of construction.
Major street projects completed in 2013 include improvements to Western Avenue, Sixth Street, 57th Street, Benson Road, and Highway 11. In addition, the City invested $8.7 million in street overlay and concrete improvements throughout the city. Other major capital improvements included the new Prairie West Branch Library, flood control levee improvements, and Prairie Green and Kuehn golf course clubhouses.
“We are prepared to meet the challenges of a growing city and are leveraging this strong financial position to continue to move Sioux Falls forward,” says Turbak.