RAPID CITY, SD—With the 2025-26 term of the Rapid City Common Council officially underway, city officials are encouraging residents to consider serving their community.
The City of Rapid City has more than 30 boards, committees and commissions which advise the mayor, city council and departments on a variety of issues. The boards offer a great opportunity for citizens lend their expertise and to serve their community on issues of importance.
Throughout the year, many of the committees have vacancies, either to fil out expiring terms or to fill vacancies that can sometimes remain unfilled for several months.
The list of committees include numerous areas of interest, from sustainability, parks and recreation, urban forestry, urban wildlife, beautification, disability awareness and accessibility, historic sign review, historic preservation, air quality, retired senior volunteer program, trenching board and boards overseeing The Monument, Rapid City Regional Airport and the Rapid City Public Library, among others. Some boards require professional certification or expertise in specific areas with various terms of service available.
“The people who serve on the City’s boards, committees and commissions provide tremendous contributions in the overall success of our community,” said City Public Information Officer Darrell Shoemaker. “The committees provide important oversight, feedback and insights on critical issues and provide great assistance to the mayor, city council and city departments.
“We often have vacancies on the committees and we encourage citizens to check out our committee listings and consider applying to serve. When we have a vacancy on a particular committee, those applications are reviewed and considered.”
In most cases, appointments are recommended by the mayor and confirmed by the Rapid City Common Council.
Citizens are invited to complete a citizen interest application found on the Citizen Boards and Commissions page under the Government tab on the home page at www.rcgov.org. Committees with a current vacancy are listed with an asterisk. The links on the page provide a brief background, terms of service and mission statement for each committee. Some boards require members with specific skill sets, experience in particular areas or to live in a certain area of the community.
Most committees meet once or twice monthly or quarterly.
Please contact or email the mayor’s office at 605-394-4110 or mayorsoffice@rcgov.org .