By Watertown Current - April 23, 2026 in Official Proceedings
County of Codington
Codington County Court House
14 1st Ave SE
Watertown, SD 57201
April 07, 2026
The Codington County Commissioners met in regular session at 9:00 a.m., Tuesday, April 07, 2026, at the Codington County Court House. Commission members present were: Lee Gabel (via ZOOM), Tyler McElhany, Myron Johnson, Randall Schweer, and Troy VanDusen; VanDusen, presiding. The pledge of allegiance was led by J.T. Fey.
CALLS FOR PUBLIC COMMENT AND CONFLICT OF INTEREST ITEMS
Chair VanDusen called for public comments to be taken up during the open portion of the meeting; none were offered. There were no conflict-of-interest items to note.
AGENDA APPROVED
Motion by McElhany, second by Gabel, to approve the agenda for April 07, 2026, as posted; all voted aye; motion carried.
MINUTES APPROVED
Motion by Johnson, second by Gabel, to approve the minutes of March 24, 2026; all voted aye; motion carried.
MONTHLY REPORTS
4-H Youth Program Advisor, Jodi Loehrer, updated the Board: Shooting Sports continues on Tuesday and Thursday nights, the State 4-H Shoot is April 24-26 in Ft. Pierre, at this time we have 57 youth registered for the state shoot with registration ending April 16, 2026; 4-H Shooting Sports still has raffle tickets that can be purchased from the shooting sports families or at our office, a big thank you to our 4-H Shooting Sports volunteer coaches; we do have a team of youth that have qualified for the Daisy National Shoot in Arkansas, July 10-13; I’m teaching Adopt-A-Cow Dairy in Waverly for kindergarten and 2nd grade along with Ave Maria School 1st grade, this is an SDSU Extension K-2 curriculum; we will wrap up our 4-H Cloverbud afterschool meetings in April and a Cloverbud Camp is scheduled for June 24th, 2026. Veterans Service Officer, Jay Roberts, updated the Board: metrics for the month, 136 open claims (working claims) 56 pending action from VA, 80 completed (YTD), Hamlin 16 open (working claims) 8 pending from VA, 8 completed (YTD), currently working for 8 veterans and have completed 3 claims for veterans from outside our county; $16,392 for the month March 2026, increase in monthly compensation for veterans or their dependents YTD monthly increase $40,804; $69,045 for the month of March 2026, retro-payment to bring a claim current to monthly compensation YTD retro-payments $246,513; 3 veteran DAV transports in March, 2 – currently scheduled for April, currently 3 drivers with 1 application being processed to become a driver; CURRENT – March 21, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. M-Day Pre-Retirement Seminar held at the Watertown Readiness Center, Eric and I attended this event and have since had a couple of veterans reach out to us for assistance; March 24, 2026 from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. What’s Brewing outreach event at the Watertown Readiness Center, would like to thank the Sea of Goodwill for hosting the Veterans and Dependents Informational briefing event on March 24, 2026, we also appreciate the SDDVA Secretary, Jeremiah Schneider, for attending along with some of his staff and the VA personnel who came to brief everyone in attendance, the event was well attended, and we look forward to hosting another event like this in the future; been answering questions from veterans and dependents on their taxes on VA compensation/DIC – reminder is that all compensation/pension/DIC is tax free and they will not receive a 1099-R; advertising for Volunteer Drivers to drive the DAV van; FUTURE – meeting with the commanders on April 7, 2026 at the VFW; radio shows KWAT – 8:30 and KXLG – 9:05 on April 9th, 2026; April 16th, 2026, Eric and I will be attending a SDDVA Mini conference, so the VSO office will be closed; April 22nd, 2026, at 2:15 p.m. outreach event for families and members at Aventura Nursing Home in Watertown.
SEASONAL MEMORIAL PARK CUSTODIAL POSITION
Motion by Johnson, second by McElhany, to advertise to hire a seasonal Memorial Park Custodial position; all voted aye; motion carried.
DELTA DENTAL INSURANCE PREMIUM RENEWAL
The board noted correspondence regarding the County’s renewal premiums for insurance with Delta Dental of South Dakota. The County’s group claims experience and trends analysis suggests a 16.1% increase in rates. Delta Dental will limit the County’s rate increase to 5%. Motion by McElhany, second by Gabel, to approve the following rates and cost share for employee dental insurance coverage for the time period beginning June 1, 2026, through May 31, 2027, all voted aye; motion carried:
Single coverage premium: $52.62 – paid by the County
Two party coverage premium: $94.72 – County share $47.36, Employee share $47.36
Family coverage premium: $137.88 – County share $68.94, Employee share $68.94
COUNTY AND CONSOLIDATED BOARDS OF EQUALIZATION
The Board noted that the County Board of Equalization will meet at 1:00 p.m., April 14th, 2026, at the Court House and the Consolidated Board of Equalization will meet at 6:30 p.m., April 14th, 2026, in the chambers of the Watertown City Council.
SALARY CLAIMS
Motion by Johnson, second by Schweer, to approve for payment the following March salary claims; all voted aye; motion carried.
Commissioners: 12,482.75 total salaries. Auditor: 25,194.62 total salaries. Co. Treasurer: 50,801.55 total salaries. States Attorney: 60,935.59 total salaries. Gov. Buildings: 22,571.99 total salaries. Dir. Equalization: 62,580.60 total salaries. Reg. of Deeds: 33,613.97 total salaries. Veterans Service: 13,349.31 total salaries. Sheriff: 150,682.71 total salaries. Jail: 174,728.05 total salaries. Coroner: 5,167.20 total salaries. Welfare: 38,768.49 total salaries. CO. Nurse; 6,456.62 total salaries. Park: 0 total salaries Ag. Bldg.: 13,391.03 total salaries. Co. Extension: 14,573.75 total salaries. Weed: 6,413.70 total salaries. Planning Board: 0 total salaries. Road & Bridge: 125,326.20 total salaries. Emergency Management; 16,896.53 total salaries. Crime Victim: 9,332.90 total salaries. W.I.C.: 5,939.65 total salaries. 24/7: 8,060.46 total salaries. Total 857,267.67
Breakdown of withholding amounts which are included in the above:
S.D. Retirement 82,068.84; VSP 977.06 eye insurance; S.D. Supplemental Retire. 5,405.00 suppl. retire.; Sanford 116,761.85; Reliance Standard Life Insurance 1228.67 life ins.; Delta Dental 7,738.70 ins.; Codington County 8,513.83 employee HSA contribution; AFSCME Council 65 535.60 employee union dues; AFLAC 4,165.63.; VSP 443.05 eye insurance; John Hancock 3,515.00 suppl. retire.; AFLAC 1,727.40 ins.; Sioux Valley Credit Union 21,318.60 employee payments; John Hancock Roth 400.00 suppl. retire.; SDRS Supplemental Retirement 5,000.00 Roth retirement; Teamsters Local Union 120 469.00 employee union due; Codington County Deputy Sheriff’s Association 135.00 employee union dues; ReliaBank Dakota 57,237.05 federal withholding; ReliaBank Dakota 77,668.28 social security; ReliaBank Dakota 18,164.46 Medicare; United Way 25.00 employee contributions; Health Equity 8,513.83 employee HSA contribution.
PERSONNEL CHANGE
Motion by McElhany, second by Gabel, to approve the following personnel changes: Jacob Redman, part-time Corrections Officer, Jail, G35/Step A, $27.66 per hour, effective 4-01-2026; Edwin Henry, part-time Corrections Officer, Jail, G35/Step A, $27.66 per hour, effective 4-01-2026; all voted aye; motion carried.
TRAVEL REQUEST
Motion by Johnson, second by Schweer, to approve the following travel request: Emergency Management office staff to attend Region Exercise; all voted aye; motion carried.
OLD BUSINESS
Commissioner Gabel provided a construction update on the new jail. The alarm system is completed; Commissioner McElhany reported that the 14th Ave. Bridge project is ahead of schedule. Last week they poured the deck, and put up the guard rails and side rails, he also mentioned that the Nurse and WIC offices have moved out of their building and now are temporarily located at the State Building.
OPEN
Public Comments – James Simmons, informed the Board about his safety concerns with the Flock cameras that currently the Sheriff’s Office is demoing.
Commission Comments – Commissioner Johnson announced that he withdrew his petition and will not be running again.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
Motion by Johnson, second by Schweer, to enter executive session, per SDCL 1-25-2 (1) Discussion of personnel issues (SDCL 1-25-2(1) and (2) Consulting with legal counsel or reviewing communications from legal counsel about proposed or pending litigation or contractual matters (SDCL 1-25-2(2)) at 9:33a.m.; all voted aye; motion carried. The Board returned to regular session at 10:23 a.m., and no action was taken. Human Resource Representative, Natalie Remund, Veteran Service Officer, Jay Roberts, and Auditor, Brenda Hanten, were present for executive session.
ADJOURNMENT
Upon conclusion of all business to come before the Board, a motion was made by Johnson, second by McElhany to adjourn at 10:24 a.m., all voted aye; motion carried.
ATTEST:
Brenda Hanten
Codington County Auditor
Codington County does not discriminate on the basis of color, national origin, sex, religion, age, or disability in employment or the provision of service.
Published once on April 23, 2026, at the total approximate cost of $91.26 and can be viewed free of charge at www.sdpublicnotices.com and www.watertowncurrent.com.