Three vie for county commission seats

By: 
Jason Ferguson

Three candidates will vie for a pair of four-year terms on the Custer County Commission this Nov. 5. Two of the candidates, Republicans Mark Hartman and Mike Busskohl, are incumbents, with Hartman having served 16 years on the commission and Busskohl two. The third candidate is Democrat Colton Jones of Hermosa.
Busskohl is a self-employed business owner, who said he has enjoyed serving Custer County residents.
“I have put a lot of time and effort into learning the best way to help protect the area we all love,” he said. “Being reelected allows me the opportunity to continue working on the current challenges that we are facing as a county. I have made some progress on many of our current issues.”
As a commissioner, Busskohl said when he doesn’t know something he takes the time to learn about it, and said he has learned a lot in two years, whether that means calling the state, attending classes or sitting down with county employees.
“I want to make the most informed decisions considering most of these decisions will effect residents for decades down the road,” he said. “I also bring a new insight being as I am not a contractor or a land developer.”
Busskohl said property taxes, making Custer County affordable for families, roads and flood mitigation are the most important issues facing the county over the next four years.
On the subject of skyrocketing property taxes, Busskohl said the commission must work with legislators and school district to fix the school funding formula. Busskohl said 65 percent of property taxes went to the schools, and the county has no say in what the schools take and the state has tied the county’s hands by creating a max mill levy in order for the schools to be eligible for state aid.
“We need communication between the legislature, schools, commissioners and taxpayers across the state in order to come up with solutions to this,” he said.
Another recent hot topic for the county was the consideration of allowing subdividing land into parcels less than an acre for building, something Busskohl said he is against.
“I am against smaller lot sizes here in our county for several reasons,” he said. “In fact, I believe that more protections need to be in place on the one-acre policy that we currently have.”
Busskohl said voters should consider him because he brings old values of a fourth-generation Custer County family that is rooted here from agriculture to a main street business.
“I have the ability to understand the diverse challenges that face this county; they are as unique as the land itself,” he said.
Hartman is also self-employed and said he seeks reelection because he wants to help see through projects that have been started.
“I bring experience, consistency, conservative spending and an understanding of our community,” he said.
Hartman said property taxes, a shortage of law enforcement and the cost of living are among the most important issues facing the county over the course of the next four years.
When it comes to property taxes specifically, Hartman said he believes one way it can be addressed is by working with other counties to put pressure on the state to change state laws on how values are based.
On the issue of smaller lot sizes, Hartman said while they may not be the answer, he does believe the commission must continue to look for ways to help with the county’s housing shortage.
Hartman, who is a third-generation Custer native, said he cares about maintaining small town values.
“I am fair and honest and committed to Custer County,” he said.
Jones did not respond to multiple requests for a candidate interview.

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