Watertown City Manager Unveils Economic Development Plans and Enhanced Public Communication Strategy in Latest Council Meeting
- Steve Jurrens
- Feb 17
- 2 min read
Northeast Radio SD News - Watertown, SD - Watertown City Manager Alan Stager concluded Tuesday’s City Council meeting with an outlook on the city’s economic development strategy, a new initiative to streamline public communications, and a wary eye toward the ongoing legislative Session in Pierre.
At the heart of the report was the announcement of two new Tax Increment Financing (TIF) districts poised for review. Stager informed the council that the Planning Commission is scheduled to evaluate the boundaries and project plans for two significant developments in the coming days.
“As mentioned, we have some tax increment financing districts coming forward for approval,” Stager reported to the council. “We have two on the planning commission agenda for this Thursday, February 19th. One is for the Oaks 2 in East Watertown, and the other one is for the Dakota Commons Reserve. The process will be those tax increment financing district boundaries will be considered by the planning commission as well as the overall plan.”
Stager noted that following the commission’s review, the recommendations will be brought before the full City Council for a final decision on March 2nd. TIF districts are a critical economic tool the city uses to capture future tax revenue to fund the immediate infrastructure needs of new housing and commercial developments.
A New Strategy for Public Discourse
In a move to increase transparency and public awareness regarding municipal operations, Stager announced a “Special Media Event” scheduled for March 11th. The event is designed to provide the public with a data-driven view of the city’s safety performance.
“We are planning to enhance our communication within the city in two ways,” Stager explained. “Number one, beginning on March 11th, we’ll have a special media event where staff and selected officials will be able to present our public safety statistics to the media all at one time, and we will hold that here.”
