Rapid City Mayor's Vision Fund plan passes council with minimal adjustments

The Rapid City Council Monday night passed the framework for Vision Fund spending in the next five years by an 8-2 vote, with councilmembers Bill Evans (Ward 2) and Lance Lehmann (Ward 4) voting against.

The plan provides an outline nearly identical to how the mayor suggested the city spend the $91 million.

The Vision Fund consists of 7% of sales taxes gathered in Rapid City. That amounts to $0.42 of the $6.20 collected for every $100 spent in the municipality.

The fund officially started in the 1990s with a voter-approved initiative to increase sales taxes and use the money for various community projects. During its lifetime, it has supported The Monument, Roosevelt Park Pool, the Dahl Arts Center, Summit Arena and many other quality of life, arts and economic development projects.

The money is expected to grow to around $91 million in the upcoming five-year cycle from 2025 to 2029.

The ordinance council passed Monday night largely followed Rapid City Mayor Jason Salamun's vision. The plan breaks spending down into three main categories — $24.4 million to community projects, $21.4 million to economic development and $45.5 million to civic improvements.

"The big idea of the Vision Fund was to prioritize public projects that enhance our community. Tonight's decision by the City Council is another step into making that reality," Salamun wrote in a statement to the Journal.

Community projects allocates $5 million to citizen projects and the establishment of a $3 million nonprofit endowment. The nonprofit endowment was the council's only diversion from the mayor's plan. The mayor suggested a $1.3 million allocation for the endowment, but council members voted to increase that by pulling money from comprehensive plan improvements.

Although the ordinance does not specifically mention a citizen committee, council members and the mayor have both expressed the desire to implement a citizen committee for those two categories.

The role of a citizen committee sat as a sticking point for some community members as this round of spending took form under Salamun. In the past, the municipal code required a citizen committee's involvement. When the mayor presented his spending plan in April, he presented an ordinance alongside it that removed the requirement and a mandatory annual public hearing to review Vision Fund spending.

Proponents touted the ordinance change as a way to create more flexibility in how the council spends the money. Opponents criticized it for a supposed removal of public involvement in spending that historically involved the community.

There was, however, no public comment on Monday.

Another key element of the plan is a $20 million allocation to a revolving strategic growth fund — slated under the civic improvements category.

The strategic growth revolving fund would focus on proactive development of city infrastructure. The city would identify areas for growth and build roads and other facilities to prepare for future development, rather than adding those features after a developer buys land and begins building.

The city would make the investment, and the developer would pay a fee that would replenish the fund.

About a third of the Vision Fund will make $32.8 million in bond payments towards Summit Arena — split between the economic development and community projects categories.

Other than the Summit Arena payments, the ordinance passed Monday does not allocate funding to specific projects. The council will adopt specific ordinances down the road to award funding for projects or establish a citizen committee.

Contact Shalom Baer Gee at

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