A controversial tax that was increased eight months ago is not meeting expectations. The Sioux Falls City Council raised the second penny sales tax to a full two pennies and also raised platting fees for developers in September 2008 in an effort to raise $10 million for new streets in the city.  But almost half-way through the year, there's only a million dollars in that fund.

"Our thing was the recession is coming. The national news has already been reporting that the recession and economic downturn had been around for about 13 months," Sioux Falls resident Scott Ehrisman said.

Ehrisman and Theresa Stehly were two of the opponents who spoke out against the increases last fall, saying a recession is not the right time to raise taxes.

Five months after the increase, the latest city financial report shows that the sales tax increase has brought in just under $1 million and the platting fees have brought in $8,000, well behind the pace of the projected $10 million.

"We felt that it was the wrong time and we're seeing that that was true. The economy has taken a downturn," Stehly said.

Sioux Falls officials admit that the recession has impacted the revenues from the sales tax and platting fees, but Public Works Director Mark Cotter says there is also a supply of land that is not paying the extra fees.

"There's a good supply of land platted and until that land becomes to be matured, meaning there is rooftops on it, additional land does not need to be platted," Cotter said.

Developers say even though the increase is not bringing in as much as expected, it is still working to raise more money to build more streets in Sioux Falls.

"We have a million dollars more in the fund today than we would have had before. We can always take the negative approach to everything and it really wouldn't matter in the long term. We don't build our company and I don't think Sioux Falls builds their city, and I don't think any bona fide business person is going to say, 'Well, I build my company one year at a time,'" Craig Lloyd of Lloyd Companies said.

Cotter says the platting fees are starting to bring in more money. $70,000 was put into the fund in June alone. Those numbers were not included in the most recent financial report.