Yankton County Commission approves millings sale, five‑year plan and ambulance transfer; debate focuses on emergency management funding and budget reporting

YANKTON — The Yankton County Commission on Oct. 7 approved a cluster of routine items and spent much of the meeting debating county budget monitoring and state support for emergency management.

The board approved the sale of surplus millings removed from the Lesterville Road pile to the single bidder (quoted as "10 and a quarter"), approved a five‑year plan, accepted the county’s OEM/LEMPG agreement with the state and authorized a contingency transfer to buy a new ambulance chassis. The commission also approved routine minutes, claims, payroll and a veteran’s tax abatement.

The meeting included several formal motions and voice votes. For the milling sale, county staff said IMEG will measure the pile this week to determine exact tonnage before finalizing the revenue calculation. On the ambulance purchase, commissioners moved dollars to unassigned funds and then transferred contingency funds to the ambulance fund after staff said the chassis cost about $77,000 and there was a roughly $5,000 shortfall in the planned accumulation.

Emergency management funding drew pointed comments. The chair said the county had negotiated with Bon Homme County on a shared OEM position but "come to find out that the reimbursement of the OEM position ... would not apply to this position," and that Bon Homme County “decided ... they were gonna just hire another deputy sheriff and let their sheriff's department take care of their emergency management.” The chair added, "the state has kind of shot themselves in the foot" by creating a funding structure that county officials say reduces local reimbursement.

A commissioner noted that the contract language implies a 50% salary reimbursement but actual payments were about 35%, and that roughly 33 counties have signed nonparticipation agreements or reduced their emergency‑management activity. "I think that's just a shame," the commissioner said, adding the service is valuable for public safety.

On the levy and budget front, commissioners discussed that levies for next year had not yet been approved. Patty, the county clerk, said department heads had submitted 10% cuts to operating expenses that amount to about $980,000. Multiple commissioners urged a quarterly reporting process so department heads show where cuts were taken and whether they are being realized in practice.

The commission met in executive session for personnel and returned with "no action taken," then adjourned.

Votes at a glance: audit report accepted (voice vote); milling bid accepted (voice vote, contingent on IMEG measurement); five‑year plan approved (voice vote); OEM/LEMPG agreement with state approved (voice vote); veteran abatement approved (voice vote); contingency transfer to ambulance fund approved (voice vote).