Emegency services hot topic for county

Emergency services funding was the theme of the Feb. 26 meeting of the Custer County Commission, as the commission and those in attendance discussed the proposed volunteer fire department funding opt-out, the ongoing movement for an ambulance service on the eastern side of the county, and even the possibility of resuming discussions as far as the City of Custer and county working out a contract agreement for the county to provide law enforcement in the city.
On the law enforcement front, Lea Anne McWhorter told the commission she was approached by some regarding the impasse between the city and county regarding a contract through which the county would provide law enforcement services to the city.
Previously the city and county had negotiated on a new contract for months, but were unable to come to an agreement and the county eventually rescinded its offer and said it would not rehire retiring personnel and no longer respond to calls within the city that are not mandated by state law.
“There is a certain element, if they think the coverage is less they will come out of the woodwork and things will start to happen,” McWhorter said of the concern of those who approached her on the issue.
McWhorter said that belief was driven home recently when a man was caught burglarizing Fort Welikit. In that instance the owner of the campground caught the burglar in the act, and the sheriff’s office responded quickly.
McWhorter asked the commission if it would appoint representatives to meet with representatives of the Custer City Council to resume negotiations “and see what they could come up with.”
Members of the county commission indicated they would be open to the idea, as did Custer City Council alderwoman Peg Ryan, who was in attendance at the meeting.
On the topic of the proposed fire fund opt-out commission legal counsel Aaron Davis presented a draft resolution for discussed purposes only. Davis said he crafted the resolution, which would put the proposed opt-out to a vote of the people within the proposed areas of the participating fire departments, with guidance from the state’s Department of Revenue.
The proposed resolution would see an opt-out of the current fire funding mil levy of .24 and add another .196 to that levy, for  a grand total of .40, or 40¢ for every $1,000 of property valuation. The opt-out would be for four years, and is being pitched as a bridge to the creation of districts for cash-strapped volunteer fire departments in the county that are not already a part of a taxing district.
Battle Creek (Hermosa) and Fairburn are already a part of districts, while Custer, Custer Highlands, Folsom, Argyle and Pringle are not.
If approved, the opt-out would start with taxes payable in 2027, and the opt-out would run through 2030. Davis said he believed municipalities within the areas to be affected if the opt-out passes would need to pass a similar resolution as well.
Commission Craig Hindle said most the apparatus and equipment within the departments is old, and wondered aloud how a fire department can make things work on the amounts they are presently.
“Nobody wants to do taxes, but if someone doesn’t show up (when there is a fire),” everybody is going to be pissed, too,” he said.
Commissioner Mark Hartman reminded those in attendance that fire protection is considered an essential service that one way or another the county is required by state statute to provide.
Commissioner chairman Jim Lintz said the Battle Creek Fire Department,  which consists of Hermosa and Keystone, has a budget of $540,000 a year.
“For our departments in Custer County to get by what they are getting by with is sort of unheard of,” he said.
County resident David Reid was in the audience and said he didn’t believe an opt-out was a fair way to fund the departments, as those with higher property values would pay more of the cost.
“It’s not equal,” he said. “How do you figure out how to charge people for the opt-out when there is such a big spread in property values? Some people are going to be paying a lot more money than others.”
Reid then discussed several years earlier when the county had a large surplus that by law it had to spend, and questioned why the fire departments weren’t “taken care of” then.
They were, however. The county allocated $600,000 of the money to the fire departments, all of which is spent except some money set aside for the process of forming districts.
Informed of this, Reid asked if the county had any more rainy day funds to spare.
“We do not,” Hindle said. “Our accounting is a whole lot better these days, so taxpayers are not being overcharged. But the budget is pretty tight here.”
“My budget is pretty tight, too,” Reid said.
On the potential east Custer ambulance front, Davis said the towns of Hermosa and Fairburn were both sent a template of a possible resolution affirming their desire to be included in the potential district. Davis indicated both towns seemed receptive to being within the district.
The two town boards must pass the respective resolutions in March to stay on the timeline of having the issue decided during the June primary.
Lintz said he attended a recent Pennington County Commission meeting, and that body was receptive to having portions of Pennington County near the county line within the district. Those discussions will continue.
In other news from the Feb. 26 meeting, the commission:
• Heard from county library director Sarah Myers, who gave an annual report for the library.
Myers said there were 34,939 visits to the library in 2025, up from 33,638 the previous year. Both branches (Custer and Hermosa) were both up 2 percent, and the library has 5,370 registered users.
When it came to programming, Custer increased its participation by 1,500, while Hermosa rose by 300. The library’s programming is self-funded. Thirty-two volunteers spent 844 volunteer hours working at the library, around a $33,563 value.
Myers reminded those in attendance the library does much more than just check out books. Among the other items or services one can find at the library are Custer State Park passes, fishing poles, a seed library, notarization, Journey Museum passes, test proctoring and a food pantry. They will also help those in need figure out how to use their cell phone.
Myers said the county enjoys a $3.09 return for every $1 it invests in the library, and said while core services such as physical books remain strong, the demand for digital services continues to increase.
• Continued its discussion on draft budget policy documents.
Davis said many of the templates were borrowed from Lincoln County. The idea of implementing a budget policy is to have a timeline for the budget process each year.
“This is a team effort,” Davis said. “(It’s) trying to get everyone to have the same general understanding when things are due, how are they going to be considered...everyone is operating from the same playbook. Maybe that hasn’t always been the case, and we want to make sure it is as best we can moving forward.”