Yankton County Road and Bridge Levy Could Go Before Voters

Yankton County voters may have the final say on a new property tax levy for county roads and bridges.

During a special meeting on Tuesday, June 30, 2026, the Yankton County Commission unanimously approved Resolution No. 2026-04, establishing a highway and bridge reserve levy of 60 cents per $1,000 of taxable value.

The resolution states that the county is unable to properly maintain, repair, construct and reconstruct its roads and bridges with its current funding.

A Two-Year Levy

The resolution includes a two-year sunset clause. The levy would first appear on property tax bills in 2027, based on 2026 property values, and would be collected for the second and final time in 2028, based on 2027 property values.

After that, the levy authorized by Resolution No. 2026-04 would expire automatically. Continuing a similar levy beyond 2028 would require separate action by the County Commission.

Based on Yankton County’s 2025 taxable valuation, the levy is expected to raise approximately $1.8 million annually. The county would retain nearly $1.6 million, while approximately $220,000 would be distributed among the seven municipalities within the county.

These figures are estimates based on 2025 taxable values. The actual amounts would depend on the taxable values in effect when the levy is collected.

Under South Dakota Codified Law 10-12-13, money collected through a county highway and bridge reserve levy may be used to maintain, repair, construct and reconstruct roads and bridges under the County Commission’s jurisdiction.

State law also requires 25 percent of the money collected within municipalities to be returned to those municipalities for street and bridge purposes.

What Would a Property Owner Pay?

The amount each property owner would pay is based on taxable value, which is not always the same as market value.

At the approved rate, a property with a taxable value of $200,000 would be taxed an additional $120 per year.

A property’s taxable value can be found on its property tax notice. It varies based on the property’s classification, including owner-occupied, agricultural and commercial property.

I am also looking into how this levy would affect property owners who qualify for an assessment freeze or another property-tax relief program. I will address that question in a separate article.

What Signing the Petition Means

A referendum petition is being circulated to place the County Commission’s decision before Yankton County voters.

Signing the petition does not mean a person supports or opposes the levy. A signature helps place Resolution No. 2026-04 on the November 3, 2026 ballot so voters can decide whether it should take effect.

The petition must contain signatures from at least 5 percent of Yankton County’s registered voters.

The South Dakota Secretary of State’s election results website reported 14,769 registered voters in Yankton County for the Tuesday, November 5, 2024, general election. Five percent of that number is 738.45, making 739 the minimum number of valid signatures required.

If the petition contains enough valid signatures and meets the other legal requirements, the levy will be submitted to Yankton County voters. If voters reject the resolution, the levy will not take effect. If voters approve it, the levy will be collected for the two years authorized by the resolution.

If the petition does not qualify, the resolution will remain in effect and the levy will begin with taxes payable in 2027.

Five Days and Five Different Deadlines

I began trying to verify the official filing deadline on Wednesday, July 15, 2026. By Monday, July 20, I had contacted the Yankton County Auditor’s Office, the Yankton County State’s Attorney’s Office and the South Dakota Secretary of State’s Office in an effort to determine which publication date and statute controlled the deadline.

Over those five days, I was directed between offices and received five different filing dates: July 20, July 22, July 27, August 3 and, finally, August 6.

During my first interaction with Yankton County Auditor Patty Hojem, she left me a voicemail that was cut off. In the portion I could hear, she said Monday, July 20, 2026, was the deadline.

Hojem later wrote in an email:

“The road & bridge minutes were published on July 2nd the petition is due July 22nd.”

On Friday, July 17, she provided another date:

“The petition was approved June 30th at a special commission meeting the minutes were published July 7th, therefore the petition shall be filed in my office July 27th by 5:00 PM.”

In a later email that afternoon, Hojem said the minutes had been published once on July 7.

Those responses appeared to calculate the filing deadline using publication of the County Commission meeting minutes. The statutes I found, however, refer to publication of the county’s action authorizing the levy and publication of the resolution itself.

SDCL 10-12-13.1 requires the county’s action authorizing the increased levy to be published within 10 days and at least twice in each legal newspaper designated by the county. It also makes the decision subject to the county referendum process in Chapter 7-18A.

While researching the deadline, I referenced SDCL 7-18A-16, which states:

“A petition to refer an ordinance or resolution subject to referendum may be filed with the auditor within twenty days after publication of the ordinance or resolution in the last to publish official county newspaper.”

I confirmed that the notice for Resolution No. 2026-04 was published in the Yankton Daily Press & Dakotan on Tuesday, July 7, and Tuesday, July 14.

I then asked Hojem whether the county was calculating the deadline from the first publication or from the last publication in the last official county newspaper to publish the resolution. I also asked for the dates on which the resolution was published in the Yankton County Observer.

Hojem first responded:

“Since the last day of publication is July 14th, the last day for petitions would be Monday August 3rd.”

That response did not include the Observer’s publication dates, so I asked again.

Hojem then confirmed that the resolution was published in the Yankton County Observer on Friday, July 10, and Friday, July 17. She wrote:

“Observer published the 10th and 17th these are the official newspapers for the county the petitions would be due August 6th.”

The complete publication record provided by the Auditor’s Office is:

Because the Yankton County Observer was the last official county newspaper to complete publication, the filing deadline currently being provided by the Auditor’s Office is Thursday, August 6, 2026.

Why the Correct Date Matters

The filing deadline is not a minor detail. It determines how long petition circulators have to collect at least 739 valid signatures and when the petition must be delivered to the Auditor’s Office.

A deadline that is too early could cause circulators to stop collecting signatures before the legal circulation period has ended. A deadline that is too late could cause them to submit the petition after the legal filing period has expired.

Either mistake could affect whether the petition qualifies and whether Yankton County voters have the opportunity to vote on the levy.

It took five days of phone calls and emails to obtain a deadline calculated from the complete publication record. The difference between the first date I was given and the final date provided by the Auditor’s Office is 17 days. That is a significant amount of time during a petition drive.

When a filing deadline can determine whether a tax increase goes before voters, the public and petition circulators should be given clear and accurate information from the beginning.

This experience is exactly why I started The Heartland Community Ledger. Information from local government affects people’s property, their taxes and their right to participate in the process. Residents should not have to make repeated phone calls, send multiple emails or search through state law to get a clear answer about an important public deadline. My goal with The Ledger is to ask those questions, follow the information until it makes sense and share what I find with the public.

Disclosure

I am one of several individuals circulating the referendum petition. I did not initiate the petition, and I am not a Yankton County resident. I cannot sign it or vote on the levy.

I agreed to help circulate the petition so registered Yankton County voters would have the opportunity to decide whether Resolution No. 2026-04 should take effect. My involvement does not represent support for or opposition to the levy.

I reported this article separately using county records, public notices, correspondence with government offices and other official sources. I am including this disclosure because I want readers to know about my involvement and judge my reporting with that information available.

References and Supporting Documents

Documents:

Yankton County Commission — June 30, 2026, Special Meeting Agenda and Meeting Packet

Yankton County — Resolution No. 2026-04: Resolution to Impose Tax for County Highway and Bridge Reserve Levy

Yankton County Commission Special Meeting Minutes — June 30, 2026

Yankton County — Notice of Property Tax Increase–Yankton Press & Dakotan
Published in the Yankton Daily Press & Dakotan on Tuesday, July 7, 2026, and Tuesday, July 14, 2026

Yankton County — County Referendum Petition for Resolution No. 2026-04

Reference Links:

South Dakota Codified Law 10-12-13 — County Highway and Bridge Reserve Fund Levy

South Dakota Codified Law 10-12-13.1 — Authorization and Publication of Increased Levy

South Dakota Codified Law 7-18A-15 — County Referendum Signature Requirement

South Dakota Codified Law 7-18A-16 — Time for Filing a County Referendum Petition

South Dakota Secretary of State — November 5, 2024, General Election Results for Yankton County
The report listed 14,769 registered voters in Yankton County.