ABERDEEN, S.D.(HubCityRadio)- The Aberdeen Chamber of Commerce’s Chamber Connections Series continue Thursday at the K.O.Lee Public Library.

The feature speaker was attorney Julie Johnson who does lobbying for the city of Aberdeen and Brown County.  The main focus was the issue of addressing property taxes.

Johnson went over SB216 that was passed by the South Dakota Legislature this year.

Brown County Director of Equalization Gene Loeschke(Lush-Key) talks about the impact of that in the counties.

Johnson went over what the Property Tax Task Force’s recommendations were for the upcoming session.  She talks about the suggestion of raising the State Sales Tax.

Johnson talked the recommendation that Governor Rhoden has made with regards to a county sales tax.

Loeschke talks about how levees work in counties.

Johnson talks about the amendment that would replace property taxes with a transaction tax.

Johnson express concerns about how to define what a transaction is.

Johnson talks about another recommendation about asking the Governor to work with the legislature on a five percent budget cuts.

Governor Rhoden will deliver his budget address on Tuesday, December 2nd.  The first day of the 2026 Legislative Session is Tuesday, January 13th with the State of the State Address delivered that afternoon.