Minnehaha County Commission approves $169M budget, additional opt out dollars

Law enforcement drives large budget increase

A $169 million 2024 budget approved by the Minnehaha County Commission Tuesday will include $1.5 million in additional property tax opt out dollars.

That opt out was originally passed in 2019, but the county has not taken the full amount of the opt out, which allows governments to take more money in property taxes than a state mandated formula provides. That formula caps property tax increases at a maximum of 3 percent of inflation.

But inflation has been soaring far above that 3 percent cap, forcing governments to spend more on goods and services and prompting them to shift the burden to property owners via opt outs.

The fiscal year 2024 budget is about $54 million more than the budget approved by the commission for 2023. A large part of that increase is from the construction of a new Juvenile Detention Center.