BROOKINGS The city is proposing a budget of $72,527,765 in 2026, a total that, while still significant, is $642,014 less than the $73,169,779 budget currently in effect for 2025.
Brookings City Council members took in that information, along with a lot of other budget-related insights, during the first of several budget workshops at Tuesday nights regular council meeting. Another workshop is set for Sept. 23, with an optional one on Oct. 14 as well.
Highlights for 2026 included:
- Projected 3% sales tax growth totaling $307,000
- Projected 5% property tax growth totaling $210,000
- A $1,087,307 increase in the general fund from the 2025 budget
- Continued investment in employees via wages and professional development and training
- No new staff positions are planned
The funding source for the citys budget is its taxpayers via revenues from sales and property taxes, the bed, booze and board (3B) tax and the $2 per night pillow tax on hotel stays.
The general fund is the biggest portion of the overall budget, accounting for $22,948,083, or 32%. Its revenue comes largely from sales and property taxes, along with transfers, all totaling roughly 82%. According to the city, the general fund helps pay for several key functions, including public safety, public works and endeavors undertaken by the Parks, Recreation and Forestry Department. Altogether, those functions account for roughly 73% of the general fund.
For what its worth, the citys property tax mill rate dollars per $1,000 of assessed value of 2.202 is one of the lowest among its peer communities, with only Spearfish and Watertown being lower at 1.935 and 1.694, respectively. The highest is Huron, at 7.214, followed by Aberdeen at 5.337.
So, where do landowners property taxes go? Well, on a home in Brookings valued at $350,000 that pays $4,584 in taxes, this is the breakdown:
- The Brookings School District gets $2,438 of that total, or 53%
- Brookings County receives $1,375, or 30%
- The city of Brookings has a share of $771, or 17%
Following Tuesday nights presentation by Samantha Beckman, assistant to City Manager Paul Briseno, councilors naturally had some questions.
City attorney
Responding to Councilor Brianna Dorans query regarding city attorney cost increases currently and into 2026 Briseno said they were anticipated because the city has more attorneys working for it via the Woods Fuller law firm, which is based in Sioux Falls. City Attorney Vince Jones, who replaced the retiring Steve Britzman earlier this year, is part of that law firm.
Briseno noted that what wasnt anticipated was the amount of work thats now taking place.
Theres a lot of projects in the hopper. Just to give you an example, this year August alone is the third-highest building month weve ever had in the history of Brookings, he said. So, were seeing a lot of construction, a lot of development, but also potential litigation, questions that are popping up that weve never seen before. Were utilizing the legal services.
He continued, Whats great is we have a number of attorneys on the bench that can help us answer these questions, so were getting a fast turnaround a very thorough turnaround but thats coming at a cost.
Budget stress
Doran also inquired about potential budget stress and/or vulnerability in the near term, citing, among other things, information indicating that fewer people are staying at hotels in Brookings.
Beckman said that, with the 3B and pillow taxes, its interesting to see the numbers come in each month.
People are coming to town, theyre eating, theyre spending their money theyre buying alcohol but theyre not necessarily spending the night here, so we cant necessarily collect that $2 a night on the hotel stays for the pillow tax, she said.
Beckman noted that with the sheer amount of building activity taking place in Brookings right now, theres a lot of construction workers in town but if they stay more than 30 days, the city doesnt collect the pillow tax.
Those are some of the constraints that were running into with those funds, she finished.
Briseno shared his thoughts as well. Its interesting when you look at the sales tax, the pillow tax, the 3B tax I think the story that its telling you is that were not getting a lot of visitors from out of town to stay here, but were having a lot of economic activity from our locals and within proximity to Brookings as well.
He said its hoped the development of the Brookings Marketplace which so far will be home to retailer Target and grocer Aldi in addition to convenience store operator Kwik Star will help keep even more money in the local economy, rather than it being spent elsewhere.
In closing, he said there are several unknowns right now, including the impact of tariffs, administrative impacts and, more concerning to Briseno, impacts to local nonprofits and other agencies throughout the community and, legislatively, unfunded mandates and potential changes to property taxes.
Those are some of the unknowns, things that give me concern, Briseno said. As Sam said earlier, we use very conservative budgeting, so we can take care of those nuances as they occur as long as theyre somewhat minor, we can adjust.
Reserves
Another question came from Councilor Bonny Specker, who wondered if the 10-year general fund budget projections which showed total revenues and total expenditures almost in lockstep with each other through 2035 included reserves.
Long story short, yes. Briseno said these include two reserve policies one at 15% and another at an additional 5%. Beyond that, theres also City Council financial policy projects, along with the equipment sinking fund, that could be utilized as well.
You can be very fluid into the future, just assuming future city councils are as frugal as you are in the budgeting process, he told councilors.
The first reading of the 2026 budget ordinance is set for Oct. 28, with adoption set for the City Council meeting on Nov. 18.
Lastly, and on a related note, councilors voted 7-0 to certify the citys property tax levy of $4,408,219 for 2026 to Brookings County Finance Officer Lori Schultz. Its an increase of $209,516 from 2025, a total that includes a growth factor of 2.09% and a Consumer Price Index factor of 2.9%.
Contact Mondell Keck at [email protected].
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