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Lennox council approves resolution to request full 2026 property tax levy allowed under state law
Summary
Lennox City Council approved a resolution to request the full property tax amount available under South Dakota law for 2026, citing statutory caps on annual increases and local growth from new housing and commercial construction.
The Lennox City Council voted to approve Resolution 2025-09-22-01, formally requesting the full property tax amount available to the city under South Dakota law for tax year 2026.
City staff explained the request during a public hearing required under state law. Nate, a city staff member, said the request follows state limits that cap annual increases in property tax revenue "by a formula we refer to as CPI plus growth," and that "the growth amount will be capped at no more than 3%. The CPI could be no more than 3%. So our maximum increase in revenue in any given year from property taxes cannot exceed 6%." The council held the required public hearing and heard no speakers for or against the levy request before voting.
Why it matters: requesting the full levy available under state law sets the maximum property tax revenue the city may collect for 2026; it does not automatically establish a taxpayer's final bill because tax rates and assessed values interact. City staff told the council this request likely will continue a multi-year trend in which the tax rate has fallen even as assessed values rise, meaning some individual tax bills could still increase.
At the hearing, staff said Lennox has seen new residential development (referred to as Countryside) and recent commercial construction that contributed to increased taxable value. Staff noted that for this year the average assessed-value increase in Lennox was "less than 1%," and that the city has requested the full amount of property tax available in prior years.
Council action and procedure: the council opened the public hearing, solicited comments, closed the hearing after no members of the public spoke, and then moved to approve Resolution 2025-09-22-01. The motion carried on a voice vote.
Clarifying details discussed during the hearing included the role of a TIF (tax increment financing) district in growing local assessed value; staff cited TIF District No. 9 as contributing approximately $21,000,000 in new taxable value over the last five years. Staff also noted that the resolution includes the amount payable for debt service on the city's general obligation bond for the municipal swimming pool, which must be included in the levy certification.
The council did not specify individual movers or seconders for the resolution in the public record. The resolution was published in notice according to South Dakota codified law and proceeded after the required public hearing.
The council then moved on to other agenda items, later approving the consent agenda and entering an executive session on security metrics under state statutory authority.
