[{"_1":2,"_99":-5,"_100":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6188800,"mediaKeyId","5062008-c302306b1626cd85116e730c0e4499b7","parentId",5062008,"title","Western Dakota Regional Water officials press county to support federal feasibility study for Missouri River project","audioSeconds",123,"startMs",12474000,"endMs",12597000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5062008-c302306b1626cd85116e730c0e4499b7&start=12474&end=12597","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5062008-c302306b1626cd85116e730c0e4499b7/thumbnail_12474000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6188800/Pennington-County/South-Dakota/Western-Dakota-Regional-Water-officials-press-county-to-support-federal-feasibility-study-for-Missouri-River-project","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6188800-eb9e0a71e940bdf10cd8a13229194a92/orig.mp4?Expires=1770436576&Signature=XsG1A349DwMmRWVXZcZYSz1qTMCbz9ZOExRvPNK3Fhd5R5LrjDIM8rkG0KPDwzlfVcDnhH8A5AikMvkD7xBymKfdp57gac5SFNsgviV7Vk0HI0~-fOHAhg~m7K-zTihz~iwkgLkaHBc5E-Qf4oLPnBpDBR0dF2Ll5d9OMyQdBC41xetvRCZ94RNG11~LauVCJhZbL-It6BlsF-9wd1tTx3-GpWaLYbOjEWIpIJAkWNGyWoPTG7o5lW-73l0c4Jp1hA2vGKvSs8i-kD4B5ESGkJ4XEuycThrgXJIllxvidtSGBp-jsGJk~Cw1XxAAcKvuCEFyPdjtHlO81KqmOIl7lw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Pennington County, SD","date","2025-06-24T23:13:56Z","article","Kristen Consett of the Western Dakota Regional Water System updated the board on the multi‑county water project seeking a Bureau of Reclamation feasibility study. Consett said the regional group has added three members since the last briefing and that delegations to Washington, D.C., have sought line‑item appropriations and legislative action to resurrect or use rural water authorities.

Consett said the feasibility study — the federal technical and environmental analysis the Bureau of Reclamation conducts to determine the practicability and costs of large water projects — is the next critical step. The speaker told the commission the project team is pursuing parallel strategies in Congress: advising Sen. Thune of the need for a direct feasibility appropriation and seeking reauthorization of older rural water authorities through Rep. Rounds’ offices.

Consett also described contingency planning should federal feasibility not proceed as proposed: the group is preparing a “Plan B” to increase interconnection among existing Black Hills water systems to improve regional resiliency in drought scenarios. She urged the county to continue the political support and local participation needed to show federal agencies that the project is regionally backed and ready for technical study.

Ending: Commissioners asked for budget and membership documents; Consett said she will provide the county auditor/commission office with up‑to‑date financials and membership lists for audit and follow‑up.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","LIVE WILL BE DELETED WHEN VIDEO UPLOADED 6-24-25 Pennington County Budget Hearings FY26","oneSentenceSummary","Western Dakota delegation said the project has secured more members and is pressing Congress for a Bureau of Reclamation feasibility study; commissioners were urged to continue county support as the group seeks federal funding for next steps.","taxTitle","Pennington County, South Dakota","taxId",2745,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6188805,"Sheriff briefs commissioners on jail, care campus and public‑safety budget moves; flags pivot‑point, inmate health costs",2247,26973000,29220000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5062008-c302306b1626cd85116e730c0e4499b7&start=26973&end=29220","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5062008-c302306b1626cd85116e730c0e4499b7/thumbnail_26973000.jpg","/articles/6188805/Pennington-County/South-Dakota/Sheriff-briefs-commissioners-on-jail-care-campus-and-publicsafety-budget-moves-flags-pivotpoint-inmate-health-costs","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6188805-33aaaa060dbe5e35a2d3a3d9ee508c42/orig.mp4?Expires=1770436576&Signature=jjbU6J4bzxQ7B1Ls7nj7eszNX1bTGwXEy-jICLE7KIXhiJLA5c9FdqtaQDbVRae7qKg20E8xv~~um38DcWRk1x4BLWPA2nrDiA28ZNYhgQtZp8T5C7zBPiqZcui0bEMcEVMtPc-T9POX43LF4siwebCjSs55-QOragJwfihCNXu4WdH4z4MlqfQ50v4KyooFOMNSHQVhnDXB6eQ8hgw8C36hAbdwqo0DBkFLWpHH81XJivct2RElVLZ49Gpevs4JB5r8GprYw5EvfXGmcwov~e~O-KIEsF4kkAo0XGKfJFgND8ZFVorAm8JXJdQbfZYcs5Te00nRLJVHAhfY0rqUaw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Sheriff’s office presentation: The sheriff and senior staff reviewed public‑safety operating statistics and the sheriff’s proposed changes for the 2026 budget, focusing on patrol, the county jail, the juvenile services center (JSC) and the behavioral‑health care campus (detox/pivot point). The sheriff said violent crime indicators have been steady or improving after pandemic‑era spikes, and he highlighted proactive patrol work and drug enforcement results tied to multi‑agency task forces.

Jail and inmate care: The sheriff described a continued rise in local jail population and said medical needs and transports for inmates have increased costs. He reported higher medical and pharmaceutical expenditures in the jail and noted some capital replacements (kitchen/laundry) are moving off warranty and require larger repair budgets. Sheriff staff are watching costs tied to the county’s reduced revenue from fewer U.S. Marshals detainees and are seeking local cost offsets.

Care campus and Pivot Point: The sheriff said Pivot Point, West River Mental Health’s crisis assessment/ stabilization unit, has reduced transports to distant inpatient facilities and is providing short‑term stabilization locally; he described how the county trimmed “safe‑bed” capacity and expanded detox beds to reduce churn of persons who used safe beds then returned intoxicated to public spaces. The sheriff said county opioid‑settlement dollars and state funding present an opportunity to reduce Pennington County’s care‑campus support; he asked commissioners to consider an executive‑session briefing to discuss contract options and use of opioid funds.

Juvenile services and courts: The sheriff asked commissioners to note an operational issue at the JSC: longer juvenile lengths of stay tied to less‑frequent court calendars (every other week rather than weekly). He said longer stays increase costs and reduce available beds; he reported plans to work with court leadership to explore restoring weekly calendar availability to reduce detention days.

Staffing, vehicle and fleet notes: The sheriff proposed small net staffing changes (a reduction of 1 FTE and about $77,000 in law‑enforcement staffing dollars consolidated across units) tied to several contract shifts (for example, two school resource positions moving toward city/contract support and a planned shift of a Box Elder deputy role to a sergeant contract). He also discussed vehicle and facility repair line increases driven by parts and warranty expirations and said opportunities may exist to centralize fleet maintenance across county departments for efficiency.

Ending: The sheriff invited commissioners to schedule follow‑up discussion on opioid‑fund strategies and shared‑services opportunities and said staff would provide updated numbers and corrected line items requested during the hearing.","Sheriff reviewed law‑enforcement staffing adjustments, jail and juvenile‑center trends, and care campus (detox/pivot point) operations; he proposed modest FTE and operational shifts and asked the board to consider executive‑session follow‑ups on contracts and opioid fund allocations.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6188808,"Pennington County staff present preliminary 2026 budget framework, urge guidance on reserves and outside agencies",2371,317000,2688000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5062008-c302306b1626cd85116e730c0e4499b7&start=317&end=2688","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5062008-c302306b1626cd85116e730c0e4499b7/thumbnail_317000.jpg","/articles/6188808/Pennington-County/South-Dakota/Pennington-County-staff-present-preliminary-2026-budget-framework-urge-guidance-on-reserves-and-outside-agencies","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6188808-7302877cf6addeda6681fd34039d9bfe/orig.mp4?Expires=1770436576&Signature=X5TlyVsJWiwaDeTXVzRZs6UGci5DxnqERwFpnjZO5fZBqjaD281CwZiAOPaYThYp9ioTVme2~lMWOSLumsh5I-2ZXsCO5ojYviXPOI-rPlwp-40QYA15nvOdOj1pheN9zkfqB0Ew5AS3xgIkKVELIfodkQOQWm-TwcvfQFeAdrlSifa8zfHso~LTWznA6lCP3s5wENVdU0JVzRxFazY5wsJV7tPR67PiNRHEQqq8EooiMk~MktAyCjzNuJLTB4BXRNxw5VZ44W~YBwdIhuIhhaQCzOyoOTUwXNXksiyR44J3mtHF-bcXjlP0Rc4a-YNosYq4vJ2ldgNnV7j2ePFzqA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Jordan Nebb, director of the commission office, briefed the Pennington County Board of Commissioners on initial 2026 budget requests, telling the board the total of department requests rounded to about $128 million and that preliminary revenues were about $126 million, a difference Nebb said planners will refine before the July provisional budget deadline.

Nebb said the revenue estimate includes conservative interest income increases tied to county bond investments and a calculation that uses the county’s maximum tax rate — a figure he said can be backed out if the board directs. He told commissioners the general fund cash balance as of May 31, 2025, was about $36.6 million and that, if 2025 collections and expenditures run as budgeted, staff project an estimated general fund balance of about $27.7 million on Jan. 1, 2026.

Commissioners asked for more detail on how much of the general fund balance is actually cash versus assigned or restricted amounts. Nebb said staff would provide a more thorough cash-balance analysis and a 10‑year levy history requested by commissioners; several commissioners also asked for a consolidated, single-line list of outside agencies the county funds and the amounts each receives so the board can see how county support is distributed across levies and department budgets.

Several commissioners said they want to evaluate outside-agency funding more closely in light of personnel and operating pressures. Commissioner Jerry Ross asked for a one-page roll-up that shows outside agencies funded in 2025 and the county contribution for each; Commissioner Yuri Drews asked that agencies seeking county funds provide their budgets and audited financials with future requests.

Nebb said personnel figures in the initial roll-up were calculated at a flat rate (no COLA or step increases included) and that new position requests were presented separately by department heads. He noted contingency and self-insurance were carried in the draft as placeholders, copied from 2025, and that department heads had excluded new FTE costs from the roll-up so those requests could be discussed in department hearings. Nebb reminded commissioners the provisional budget must be approved before July 30 and that there are scheduled meetings on July 1 and July 15, with the option to schedule another special session if needed.

Commissioners also discussed reserve policy: how to define the target general-fund reserve (examples given included 20–30 percent), whether to continue formal reserve accumulations assigned to departments, or to hold more contingency centrally so the board can transfer funds without supplement hearings. Several commissioners favored simpler presentation of reserves — separating “cash on hand,” “assigned” and “unassigned” balances — so the public can track where funds are held and how they are used.

Nebb said he will return with more granular personnel and reserve analyses, a 10‑year levy history, a single roll-up of outside agencies and their county support, and personnel-cost scenarios showing the effect of COLA/step options. He also asked commissioners to consider policy decisions on funding philosophy for outside agencies (flat funding, inflationary adjustments, performance criteria) and whether the board wants to continue directed reserve accumulations or rely more on contingency transfers.

Ending: The board did not take formal action; commissioners asked staff for the additional data and analysis Nebb promised and scheduled follow-ups at forthcoming July budget hearings.","County finance staff presented a preliminary roll-up of department requests showing a roughly $128 million expenditure ask and $126 million in revenues, with commissioners asking for more detail on reserves, levies and funding to outside agencies.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Western Dakota Regional Water officials press county to support federal feasibility study for Missouri River project

Sheriff briefs commissioners on jail, care campus and public‑safety budget moves; flags pivot‑point, inmate health costs

Pennington County staff present preliminary 2026 budget framework, urge guidance on reserves and outside agencies