City sends new LEO proposal to county

A new proposal from the City of Custer would see the city pay Custer County $600,000 a year for the next five years to have the Custer County Sheriff’s Office provide law enforcement services in the city once more.
The proposal, which will be sent in letter form to the county, was unanimously approved by the council following an executive session at the council’s July 6 meeting.
The proposal would see the full $600,000 begin Jan. 1, while the remainder of 2026 would be for a prorated amount.
The proposal is the latest step in renewed negotiations between the two entities that have taken place over the last few weeks. Concerned citizens have approached both entities about the lack of a contract, and the two sides reopened discussions in an attempt find common ground on an agreement. There has been talk about a public meeting between the two entities to discuss the issue, but that has yet to materialize.
The City of Custer’s law enforcement contract with Custer County expired at the end of last year with the county and city at an impasse over how much the city should pay the county for said law enforcement services.
After several months of negotiations the two entities remained at loggerheads, with the Custer County Commission rejecting the city’s last counteroffer, followed by the commission unanimously approving having Custer County state’s attorney Tracy Kelley send a letter to the city acknowledging that the contract would expire and rescinding all offers of a continued contract with the city.
The county had asked the city to enter into a three-year contract that would see the city pay the county $500,000 in 2026, $650,000 in 2027 and $750,000 in 2028. The city countered with an offer of $500,000 this year, followed by 6 percent increases the next two years. The city paid Custer County $435,000 in 2025.
It is now month seven of no contract between the two entities, and while the sheriff’s office is mandated by statute to respond to felony crimes in the city, the sheriff’s office said smaller calls such as barking dogs, arguing neighbors, etc., could fall by the wayside. Currently there are not deputies assigned specifically to the city.
Most recently, city staff was responsible for closing down Mt. Rushmore Road for the July 4 parades rather than the sheriff’s office, as parade traffic control is another service the county said the sheriff’s office would no longer provide. 
Also at the meeting, alderwomen Monica McGowan, Julie Jenniges and Dixie Whittaker took their oaths of office for their new two-year terms. All three ran unopposed during the June election. Jenniges and Whittaker were incumbents in their wards, while McGowan is new to the council and takes over for Todd Pechota, who did not seek reelection after six years on the council.
Jenniges was voted council president, while alderwoman Peg Ryan was voted council vice president. The council also approved entering into a one-year contract with Hustead Law Office to continue its role as the legal counsel for the city, with attorney Kaleb Peterson also taking his oath of office at the meeting.
In other news from the July 6 meeting, the council:
• Learned that $1,600 was raised at the June Veterans Appreciation Barbecue. The money will be used to buy gift cards to Lynn’s Dakotamart, which will then be distributed to veterans in need during the holiday season.
• Approved allowing additional food trucks outside of city ordinance for Gold Discovery Days. The request came from the Custer Area Chamber of Commerce, with director Dawn Murray saying the request was just like the request for July 4, as several of the vendors serve things such as popcorn, cotton candy, snow cones, etc., and the additional trucks will allow for more trucks that serve meal-type foods.
• Accepted the $26,000 green waste chipping services proposal from Baker Timber Products to chip the brush pile at the dump. The city will pay 15 percent—$3,900—of the cost, while the state will pay 10 percent and the Federal Emergency Management Agency will pay the rest.
“We don’t get any snow and can’t burn it—this is our next option,” Mayor Bob Brown said. 
“It’s gone from being a pile to being a mountain,” alderwoman Jeannie Fischer said. 
The pile grew exponentially after the December windstorm that knocked over a bevy of trees in town.
• Reappointed Rick Hudson to the city’s planning commission.