Residents urge legislature to allow county sales tax option as commissioners consider cuts

During public comment at a Yankton County budget meeting, resident Nancy Wenandy urged the board and legislators in attendance to pursue legislative permission for counties to adopt a local sales tax to diversify revenue beyond property taxes. "I think trying to get the legislature to allow the county to have local control and vote on that here could really help offset some of these revenue challenges," Wenandy said.

Board members and other speakers cited a governor's report suggesting a half-cent county sales tax collected throughout the county could entirely offset the county's portion of property tax for owner-occupied property, though speakers noted such revenue would not replace school, municipal or special-district levies. One official said a full-cent option had previously been studied and that a half-cent could generate roughly $10 million for the county (participants gave varying figures during the discussion).

Speakers acknowledged several legislative attempts to shift alcohol or sales-tax shares to local governments have failed in past sessions. Commissioners urged the public to engage with state legislators and asked county staff to assemble data showing potential revenue outcomes and the geographic distribution of sales-tax receipts versus county service costs.

No formal action or ballot initiative was proposed at the meeting; participants framed the sales-tax option as a legislative change that would require state approval before being put to local voters.