Notes from Commissioner Ted Seaman

We held our final commission meeting of the year on December 20th, 2017.  This meeting signaled the closeout of our 2017 fiscal year with the Commission approving all final departmental expenditures and supplementing some county budgets which fell short of operating funds. 

With 2018 just around the corner, we have already started discussions on the 2019 county budget.  We asked all department heads to review current operations within their respective offices for potential cost savings measures and share their findings during our second meeting in January.  

Our highway superintendent advised we crushed $125,000 worth of gravel for county road projects in 2017.  The original 2017 gravel crushing budget was $750,000.  In January we will discuss implementing some funding resolutions which could allocate specific funds for capital outlay projects.  This action should allow the highway department to pursue an aggressive gravel crushing operation via our contractor. 

We reviewed a variance request on a 25 acre parcel as the property owner wanted exemption from our plating requirements under Ordinance 20.  This variance request had previously been denied by the County Planning Board and we affirmed their decision.  

In other permitting matters; we approved a final plat in the Vickerman Subdivision with the requirement that the owner improve public access and work with the highway department on an approach permit.  Too, we approved a final plat in the McEwen Subdivision which splits several tracts into smaller acreages. 

We approved a final map for ambulance service response areas throughout the County.  Affected ambulance services agreed to these new response zones in an effort to improve services to our local communities. 

We take great pride in honoring our local veterans who have served this nation.  This month we recognized Mrs. Sharon R. Jenkins of Summerset as our Veteran of the Month.  Mrs. Jenkins entered the United States Navy in 1958 and was honorably discharged in 1961.  We typically hold this veteran acknowledgment during the second meeting of each month at 1:00 pm.  

Sheriff Ron Merwin was on hand to open bids for patrol vehicles.  The award went to Scott Peterson Motors of Belle Fourche.  The Sheriff’s Office will receive two new Dodge Ram trucks and one Dodge Durango to add to their patrol fleet. 

Our next meeting will be January 10, 2018.  Have a Merry Christmas and a great New Year! 

Respectfully, 

Ted Seaman, Commissioner 

Notes from Commissioner Linda Rausch

The Meade County Commission met in regular session on Wednesday, December 13.  

The Commission received updates regarding status of the departments of the appointed officials.  One item of note is that the 4-H office will be relocating from the Erskine building to the Court House.  This move is expected early next year.

Representatives of the ambulance districts presented their new response map.  This is the one attached to the petition to form the Sturgis Ambulance District.  The new Sturgis Fire District was also discussed.  The Commission directed the Auditor to absorb the costs of the fire and ambulance elections to the extent that we are allowed to by State statute.  The total cost of both elections is less than $20,000.  The Commission has supported the idea of forming taxing districts for these essential services, so it only seemed right that the County would support the election financially.

A purchase agreement from the city of Summerset to purchase some county owned lots within the city was discussed.  The agreement was sent back for some rework, but we expect to approve this purchase by Summerset. This should get rid of some county maintenance responsibilities and allow the Summerset to develop the area and return 2 or 3 lots to the tax paying role.

Chairman Niederwerder presented a resolution to look for ways to reduce county spending by $1.5 million for the 2019 budget.  The intent was to set a target for reduction so that the increasing cost of health care and the need to do some road projects could be funded.  After much discussion, the resolution failed on a 3 to 2 vote.

Bids were submitted for the Elk Vale Road paving project.  There were 7 bids submitted.  All bids met the criteria established by the engineering specifications and the engineering estimate.  The low bidder at $2,177,175.91 was Foothills Contracting from Webster, SD.  That was at 54% of the engineering estimate.  The bid was accepted and the work awarded to Foothills.

We approved supplements to the 2017 budget for $183,750.  These were mostly for expenditures that exceeded the estimate in the budget.  Most were related to judicial system expenditures.  The Judge decides and the County has to pay.  We do our best to estimate, but sometimes we are short and need to supplement.  We also needed to supplement for some additional computer equipment which we approved, but hoped to cover in the budget.

We approved the Veteran’s property tax exemptions, vacated a plat of an old cemetery which is empty, and agreed to pay the Workers’ Compensation Insurance costs for the Rural Meade County Ambulance Service. 

We approved the renewal of the Pappy Hoel Campground liquor license.  This was deferred to get additional information on traffic safety.  A representative from the SD Department of Transportation updated us on the discussions and plans to date.  They plan to use temporary signals for the 2018 Rally and will continue to study to see if permanent turn lanes should be installed.

Lastly, we discussed the County Burn Ban.  Normally, we would rescind it at this time of year, but with no snow cover, we decided to leave it in place.

Respectfully,

Linda Rausch, Commissioner District 3

Notes from Commissioner Galen Niederwerder

The commission met in regular session Wednesday November 8th.

It was a pretty light agenda; the main subject being whether to continue with the five-year tax forgiveness program in what is called the Discretionary Formula.  The program was approved by the state legislature years ago as a means of allowing counties and cities to encourage economic development.  The relevant statute, 10-6-35.2, states this:  “Any structure…shall, following construction, be valued for taxation purposes in the usual manner.  However, the board of county commissioners of the county where the structure is located, may adopt any formula for assessed value to be used for tax purposes.  The formula may include for any or all of the five tax years following construction all, any portion , or none of the assessed valuation for tax purposes."

In 2001, Meade County adopted a forgiveness formula of 20-40-60-80-100 for commercial businesses for buildings valued at $30,000 or more, which was consistent with all the other counties in the state.  The commission changed that to 0-0-0-0-0 in 2010, in an effort to set us apart from other counties; and until recently was one of only two counties statewide to do so, as Fall River County has apparently also recently adopted this formula.  In 2012, the commission expanded the formula to cover Ag structures valued at greater than $10,000.

Until recently, the commission believed, and actually had it confirmed by the Department of Revenue, that the state made up the “lost” tax dollars to the school district.  When pressed, though, they were unable to show proof, and Auditor Lisa Schieffer confirmed that each year, she is given an added levy to be spread out over all the other taxpayers in the school district.  So we put this on the agenda to review two things:  1) Is this fair to all the other taxpayers, and 2) Is it having the desired effect of bringing in new businesses and new construction to increase the tax base. 

What we found out is this:  The taxpayers have made up an average of about $62,500 annually to the school district since 2012.  By my math (which is a little sketchy; I dropped Math in college - but then I took Business Math and got a B+), that comes to about 2 cents per thousand of valuation for each taxpayer.  Additionally, the county’s “lost” revenue has averaged about $83,000 in tax forgiveness over the same time period; the taxpayers have not been asked to make up that difference - we just got by on less.  

The main question we had, though, is it bringing in new businesses to the county, providing more jobs and increasing our tax base?  Scott Peterson of Scott Peterson Motors, Aaron Schoen of Jake’s Collision Repair, Ryan Aldren of Rasmussen Mechanical, and the mayor and city manager of Summerset, along with a developer from that city, all spoke to the commission about their experience with this formula, and seven other businesses provided letters.  Scott testified that after Storm Atlas, which destroyed the old Jacobsen Ford complex he had recently purchased, that he seriously considered not rebuilding - just walking away.  The Discretionary Formula was the over-riding factor which convinced him and his wife, Susan, to build the multi-million dollar complex at Exit 32.  I believe he said they now employ 28 people, up from eight in the old location.  Aaron re-located from Belle Fourche to the space vacated by Scott; and again, he stated the Formula was the main reason why.  Ryan said the Rasmussen family wasn’t even considering Sturgis as the location for their business until they were advised of the Formula; and said without it, they would not have built here.  The mayor’s contingent confirmed what the others told us in regard to their city.  Additionally, we heard that Butte County and the city of Spearfish, after seeing the success it’s had in Meade County, are now considering adopting the same Formula.  I really hope they don’t.

So the board majority affirmed the continuation of the Formula with no changes.  The revenue is now starting to come into the county and school district from the early partakers of this policy, it’s brought many new businesses to our county, and I like the fact that Ag also qualifies for the tax break.  It looks to me like it’s really paid off.

God Bless Meade County.

FireWise Program Hires Veterans

FireWise Veterans

The Meade County Firewise Program is a veteran-hire program funded primarily by federal grant dollars through the Bureau of Land Management.  It is part of the “Veteran in the Woods” Initiative started in Meade County in December of 2012 with two goals in mind: mitigate the risk of wildland fires in our local communities and- more importantly- assist veterans in reintegrating into civilian life.  We achieve the first goal of mitigating the risk of wildland fires through a combination of public outreach and education efforts, as well as sending a crew out to partner with private landowners to physically reduce and clean up hazardous fuels- such as dense or overgrown vegetation and trees- which creates a survivable space around structures.  In Fiscal Year 2017, the Meade County Firewise Program treated 86.5 acres of private land in the Black Hills, protecting 32 structures on 20 properties.

However, the second goal is the most important focus we have, and it is where we take the most pride: aiding our veterans.  Since 2012, we have employed exclusively veterans in a short-term capacity to train them specifically in wildland fire mitigation techniques as well as giving them much broader employment assistance.  The Meade County Commission Office, under which the Firewise Program operates, handles a wide variety of tasks for the county: it houses the Human Resources department for the county, as well as the Veteran Services Officer.  The HR department offers veteran participants in the Firewise Program assistance with resume writing, job interviewing skills, and finds them pertinent job shadowing opportunities within the community.  The Veteran Services Officer offers assistance with the numerous veteran benefits for which a participant might be eligible through the various state and federal agencies.  Meade County uses all resources available to them as a public entity t o aid veteran participants in the program by giving them the tools to be successful.

We measure the true success of the program in lives positively impacted.  Many of the veterans that participate in the program have their own struggles in life, ranging from physical, emotional, financial, or sometimes even legal trouble.  The structure they had in their military lives is often absent in their civilian lives, and the camaraderie they shared with their brothers- and sisters-in-arms dissipates quickly with time.  It can be overwhelming.  The Firewise Program gives them a safe landing zone to work their way through those issues.  They get to plug into a network of veterans going through the same struggles.  To-date, we have had 37 veterans participate in the program.  We only count it as a success if the veteran leaves the program with full-time employment or enrollment in secondary education to pursue their desired career path.  In FY2017, we have had 8 veterans graduate from the program, and a current crew of 5 veterans are actively working towards a better future for themselves and their families.  Past graduates have gone back to school or have been hired into full-time careers in a wide variety of fields; a few actual notable examples include: law enforcement officer, correctional officer, EMT, IT technician, equipment operator, and truck driver.

None of this would be possible without the funding we receive from the BLM.  Since 2012, the BLM has made more than $600,000 available to the program through grant dollars.  By comparison, the cost share we have received from private landowners through our fuels reduction contracts (they pay 20% of services billed), has totaled nearly $40,000 in the same time frame.  The BLM and Meade County are proudly committed to serving those who have served our nation, and keeping our communities and the Black Hills safe and beautiful.

Notes from Commissioner Robert Heidgerken

The Meade County Commission met Wednesday, October 25th for their second regular meeting of the month. Economic development and roads were our main topics of discussion.

We had a good discussion on the discretionary formula which allows no property tax for five years on new construction of commercial or agricultural property over $30,000. No decision was made and the issue will be on the next meeting agenda.      

The revolving loan fund to new businesses through Sturgis Economic Development Cooperation (SEDC) was renewed for five more years.  There is about $140,000 in funds available for loans; contact them if you are interested. 

Load limits on the New Underwood Road were discussed.  Again, no action was taken.  Trucks will not be getting smaller, so about all we can do is try to build better roads which cost more money.  To this end, the Commission approved applying for a matching grant for $9,000,000 to rebuild eight miles on the south end of the New Underwood Road.  Stay tuned to see if the grant is approved.

While it is true that the county consolidated mill levy increased  from 3.906 mills to 4.113 mills, this is only on the county portion of your total tax bill, which makes up 27 cents of the total property tax dollar.  On $100,000 of valuation, this would be an increase of $20.70 per year, or $1.73 per month.  Well, I don’t like taxes any more than you do, but to be able to provide the minimum amount of services you expect, this is what it will cost.

I’m afraid we wont see much rain before the snow melts.  Pray for some of each.

Respectfully, 

Robert Heidgerken

District 5 Commissioner

Notes from Commissioner Ted Seaman

Commissioner Ted Seaman 

The Meade County Commission met in regular session on Wednesday, October 11, 2017.   We were honored to open the meeting by recognizing Lori Bratland, Deputy Treasurer and Kirk Chaffee, Director of Equalization and Planning for their respective thirty years (employment) of commitment and service to the citizens of Meade County.  

Lori Bratland, Deputy Treasurer

Kirk Chaffee, Director of Equalization and Planning 

Bob Weyrich, SD Department of Agricultural Development presented an overview of agriculture development within the state and the impact in Meade County. In 2016, the number of farms and ranches in SD was at 31,000 - down 300 farms since 2015.  He requested the Commission appoint representatives from our county to work with the County Site Analysis Program (CSAP).  The CSAP will collect Geographic Information Systems (GIS) data which is used to identify potential sites that could fit various ag related development projects within the county.   We selected Pat Kurtenbach, SEDC and Kirk Chaffee as our appointed designees.

Members from Bear Butte Valley Water, Inc. were on hand to request an easement for county right-of-way in the Northwest corner of the County. This ROW will allow them to put in more water lines and support more customers; their request was granted. 

December 13, 2017 at 10:00 am was the date/time set to receive bids for the Elk Vale Road project. The bids will be received at the Erskine Building in the Commissions’ meeting room.

The Commission discussed whether a local candidate in Meade County could form their own political action committee (PAC).  On the advice of the county auditor, and the SD Secretary of State, it was determined that a candidate cannot be the chairperson or Treasurer for their own PAC. 

We discussed a policy change on the overtime work-period for Patrol Deputies. That policy was changed from a 28 day work-period to a 14 day work-period for overtime calculations. 

Finally, each month we are honored to acknowledge a local veteran for their service, commitment and sacrifice to our country.  The October veteran of the month is Mr. Howard Mehringer.  Mr. Mehringer flew helicopters in Vietnam for one year with the 1st Air Cavalry.  Of note, his father flew B-24s, B-17s, and B-29s in WWII.  His son was deployed to Afghanistan in 2007 where he passed away. Mr. Mehringer is an active member with the local Shriners.

Mr. Mehringer - October Veteran of the Month

It was nice to have a light agenda after a long meeting two weeks ago when we finalized the 2018 budget.

Respectfully, 

Ted Seaman

Commissioner, District 4