Grant County Commissioners Hear Concerns About Funding Issues Involving Local Dispatching Services Between the Sheriff’s Department and the City of Milbank

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The Grant County Sheriff’s Office is studying ways of increasing its overall revenue in an effort to provide more hours for local dispatchers and to better increase the departments revenue as a whole for the long term. At Wednesday’s Grant County Commissioners meeting, Sheriff Kevin Owen
discussed the need for renegotiating the current contract agreement which the department has in place with the city of Milbank for local dispatching services. Sheriff Owen noted the city of Milbank has been paying the sheriff’s department a sum of $1,000 a month over the past several years to handle the city’s dispatching duties. Sheriff Owen further noted that the city utilizes the service 2/3rds more often than the sheriff’s office does, thus making it less profitable for the department over the long term. Sheriff Owen further indicated that if the city of Milbank were to contribute an additional 10 to 12-thousand dollars per year it would help provide more hours for local dispatchers who are classified as part-time status. Sheriff Owen further noted that the Sheriff’s Office has had a good working relationship with the city of Milbank over the years and felt that the city as a whole would be flexible as far as contributing more revenue to benefit the sheriff’s department once both sides have the opportunity to negotiate the issue. The commissioners took the matter under advisement pending further discussions between the county and representatives from the city of Milbank.

At Wednesday’s meeting, the commissioners also held their annual bid letting for supplies for the Grant County Highway Department with bids being awarded for items such as gravel placement, bridge decking and culvert installation and replacement. The board also gave county Highway Superintendent Kerwin Schultz permission to send out letters to rural landowners informing them of the county’s responsibility to grade or maintain gravel roads as needed, even those where the landowner has applied for dust control products to be used ahead of time.

In another matter, the commissioners approved separate contracts with the South Dakota Department of Transportation on behalf of the Grant County Weed Department for the year 2018 as requested by County Weed Supervisor Nathan Mueller. A contract in the amount of $6,000 was approved with the state department for pocket gopher baiting purposes, along with another contract totaling $24,930 for basic weed spraying along county roadside right of way areas.

The board also approved a malt beverage license on behalf of David Rufer, owner of Rufee’s Bar and Grill in Strandburg for a special “Spring Dance and Supper” event being hosted this Saturday, (April 7th) by the “Spirit of the Cats” organization at the former Grant-Deuel School in Revillo.