The Municipal League is meeting tomorrow, what is it and why does it matter?

RAPID CITY, S.D. – The annual South Dakota Municipal League meeting is taking place in Pierre on Tuesday, February 6 to discuss state legislation and how its affects things on a local level. Rapid City Mayor Steve Allender has served on the board of the Municipal League for the last few years and will be attending again, for the last time, this year.

What is the Municipal League and what do they do?

The Municipal League is made up of representatives from towns, cities, and counties from around the state. Each year, they get together and have a big dinner where they talk about state legislation and how it affects the different municipalities in South Dakota. The Municipal League makes it easier for Municipalities to bounce ideas off of each other and come up with ideas to solve the problems that they are facing.

“The Municipal League then becomes our primary lobbying agency for city needs across the state,” said Mayor Steve Allender of Rapid City. 

Why is it important?

Mayor Allender also said that the federal government and even the state government, are very large which makes can make it difficult to find a way for municipalities to voice their opinions. The Municipal League creates a shortcut to the State Legislature. When municipalities are able to voice their concerns to State Legislators, it creates a path for those issues to be presented on the federal level.

“The dozens and dozens of cities and counties that are part of the state need a way to have their voice heard,” Mayor Allender said.

What topics will be discussed?

The topics of discussion are different every year based on the problems that are impacting people on a local level. Sometimes, there are issues that are impacting many municipalities that might not have the attention of the State Legislators. This year, it is expected that a big topic of discussion will be around crime and criminal justice.