Custer County Chronicle

As soon as Jan. 1, Custer County could implement the new half cent sales tax counties are now able to charge thanks to Senate Bill 96, which was passed during the 2026 legislative session.
The Custer County Commission listened to an overview of how the implementation will work from commission legal counsel Aaron Davis at the commission’s May 27 meeting, after having asked Davis to research the issue at the commission’s previous meeting.

The man who in February was held at gunpoint during a burglary attempt was sentenced to five years in the South Dakota State Penitentiary for the act.
Darius Balciunas, 38, was sentenced in Seventh Judicial Circuit Court by judge Heidi Linngren, who in sentencing Balciunas noted the increasing nature and degree of violence in his crimes. Balciunas is known to law enforcement in the area for a variety of offenses, which until now were of the petty or misdemeanor variety, including drivers license issues, traffic issues and simple assault.

Negotiations for a new law enforcement contract between Custer County and the City of Custer are likely to resume in some form or fashion in the near future. Exactly how they will unfold is not set in stone, however.
At the May 13 meeting of the Custer County Commission the commission discussed its push to have a joint, public meeting with the Custer City Council to discuss the issue and bring the public into the fold as to how the negotiations have transpired and how they did or did not come together.

At the budget hearing May 11 in the Custer board room, the Custer School District Board of Education reviewed a total proposed budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 27, seeing an overall decrease of 12.48 percent in comparison to FY 26. Excluding the Career and Technical Education (CTE) building expenses, FY 26 budget was $19,068,856, and the preliminary budget for FY 27 is $16,688,702.
The CTE building numbers were excluded because “we want to compare real numbers from real spending, not building spending year-to-year,” said business manager Sarah Wedge.