Allender lays out next years budget, focuses on homelessness

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) - Rapid City Mayor Steve Allender presented his proposal for the 2023 city budget Monday.

He said that one of the main challenges for the city going forward is the exponentially growing homeless population.

This has, in the past, according to the mayor, put a strain on public safety departments, like the police.

However, two new organizations known as Journey On and Volunteers of America, are receiving city funds to help provide resources to the homeless community, saving time and resources for the Police and Fire departments.

Allender said that these groups began as experimental endeavors, and have proved themselves to be beneficial for the community.

”I had built some expectations in my mind, that I thought we would be able to see in a year or two,” Allender told the City Council. “These groups brought about those results in a couple of months, and this experiment has worked out better than any experiment I’ve ever been involved with.”

The money allocated to Journey On and Volunteers of America will grow in the next year by 140% and 100% respectively.

Copyright 2022 KOTA. All rights reserved.