Rapid City, South Dakota – A petition drive seeking to force a public vote on the Libertyland Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District in Rapid City, Black Hills, cleared a key hurdle Friday, September 26, after Citizens for Liberty submitted over 5,000 signatures to the city.
The grassroots organization turned in 314 petitions containing 5,145 signatures to the Rapid City Finance Office before the 5 p.m. deadline. The effort challenges the City Council’s decision to approve the TIF district, which is intended to fund public infrastructure for the proposed Libertyland USA development.
City Finance Director Daniel Ainslie is now tasked with verifying the signatures. Ainslie anticipates completing the validation process by later next week. To successfully refer the measure to a vote, the petitions must contain a minimum of 2,572 valid signatures.
If the signature threshold is met, Ainslie will place an item on the agenda for the October 6 Rapid City Council meeting. At that time, the Council will be required to set a date for the public vote.
The potential vote could be scheduled to coincide with the next annual municipal election, which is set for next June, or the Council could choose to schedule a special election. A special election would need to be held on a Tuesday more than 30 days following the October 6 Council meeting but before the municipal election in June.
The Libertyland USA project is a large-scale, mixed-use development planned for North Rapid City, featuring a resort village and a Western-themed attraction. The use of a TIF to finance infrastructure for the development has been a source of significant public debate in Rapid City.