Inside City Hall: What are city property and sales taxes used for?

Property taxes are one source of revenue that support the day to day operations of your City. Minnehaha County Auditor’s Office collects all property taxes and then distributes the taxes to the appropriate entity. The City of Brandon receives about 22 percent of an owner-occupied residential property tax bill and in 2019 that totaled to about $2.7 million. Property tax revenue is a general fund revenue supporting police, fire, streets, snow removal, parks, pool and more. Property tax is one of the major sources of revenue for any city and without this we could not run your city.  

Sales tax is important to the City of Brandon and another major source of revenue. This revenue source is not quite as consistent or predictable as property taxes, as sales tax changes with the economy. With every dollar you spend, 2 cents goes to the City’s General Fund. Sales tax revenue is a key component in being able to improve your City and while 2 cents does not sound like a lot, the City of Brandon brought in over $3.3 million in 2019. Sales tax pays for debt, projects and equipment in the General Fund. Currently, we do not have a lot of debt, which will change in the next few years as we tackle some big projects. We have seen a continued increase in sales tax over the years with the help of new businesses coming to town and the Brandon Valley Area Chamber of Commerce doing some great campaigns such as “Buy Brandon” and the “$5 Challenge”. We encourage you to continue challenging yourself to shop Brandon, as every dollar you spend helps improve Brandon. To make sure your tax dollars are going to Brandon, shop local.  

Visit our website at cityofbrandon.org/taxes for more information. If you have any questions please contact the City of Brandon’s Finance Officer, Christina Smith at csmith@cityofbrandon.org or (605) 582-6515.