Grant County Commission Proceedings
Grant County Commission Proceedings
September 10, 2026
The Grant County Commission met in special session at 8 a.m. with Commissioners Mach, Tostenson, Street, Hoff, and Stengel present. Chairman Mach called the meeting to order. Regarding the 9-1-2026 minutes, States Attorney Schwandt said his comment about data centers could buy water from Grant-Roberts Rural Water wasn’t in the correct context of the discussion and asked to remove it from the minutes. Motion by Tostenson and seconded by Stengel to approve the minutes as corrected. Motion carried 5-0. Motion by Hoff and seconded by Stengel to approve the agenda as presented. Motion carried 5-0. The purpose of this special meeting is to hold the 2027 budget public hearing and further review the 2027 budget and approving the SDDOT Joint Power Agreements. Also in attendance was Commissioner Assistant Owen and States Attorney Schwandt.
Present from the public was Holli Seehafer and Traci Stein.
Public Comment: Chairman Mach called for public comment three times. There were no comments.
2027 Budget Hearing: The public hearing for the 2027 budget was held. Auditor Folk stated the 2027 general fund budget is $7,511,005 and highway budget is $6,607,152. The remaining smaller funds only had slight changes. Since the last meeting the new employee health insurance rate has been received, and it has increased by 15 percent. Folk originally budgeted 10 percent but have now applied the new rate to all affected departments. Commissioner Assistant Owen said he spoke with the insurance provider, and they attributed the increase to claims going up 63 percent. This changes the general fund cash applied to $199,815 and the highway cash applied to $770,211. Folk gave the Commissioners department expense comparison reports to see the percent they are over in their budget compared to 2025. Some funds and departments will need budget supplements due to unforeseen expenses in 2026. Those include elections, juvenile detention, 4-H buildings, jail capital projects and rural access infrastructure fund.
Chairman Mach opened the public hearing calling three times for public comments. Holli Seehafer from the Grant County Review asked to have the cash applied amounts stated again. There were no other comments. Mach closed the public hearing.
2027 Budget: The Commission reviewed revenue and expense changes to the provisional budget. The Centrally Assessed valuations have been received from the Dept. of Revenue. The growth factor and the county tax call may now be finalized for budget approval and adoption at the Tuesday, September 22, meeting. In 2027 a wage study will be done to see how Grant County compares with other South Dakota counties.
Joint Power Agreements: Motion by Stengel and seconded by Street to approve Chairman Mach to sign the SDDOT Joint Powers Bridge Improvement Grant Agreements for preliminary engineering on bridge 26-281-180, project number BRO 8026(00)27-2 PCN 0AMU, for preliminary engineering on bridge 26-240- 068, project number BRO 8026(00)27-1 PCN 0AMT, preliminary engineering on bridge 26-380-083, project number BRO 8026(39), PCN 0ANH, and preliminary engineering on bridge 26-296-020, project number BRO 8026(38), PCN 0ANG. Motion carried 5-0.
911 Contract: Motion by Street and seconded by Tostenson to approve a two-year contract for 2027-2028 with the City of Watertown for E-911 services. The contract states 100 percent of the surcharge fees for all phone lines are paid to the City of Watertown. Motion carried 5-0.
Dispatch Contract: Motion by Hoff and seconded by Stengel to approve the two-year contract for 2027 and 2028 with the City of Watertown for non-emergency dispatch at the contract amount of $24,720 per year. Motion carried 5-0.
Executive Session: Motion by Tostenson and seconded by Stengel to enter executive session at 8:58 a.m. for the purpose of a personnel issue(s) pursuant to SDCL 1-25-2 (1). Motion carried 5-0. Commissioner Assistant Owen, States Attorney Schwandt and Auditor Folk were present. Chairman Mach declared the meeting open to the public at 9:09 a.m. No action was taken because of the executive session.
It is the policy of Grant County, South Dakota, not to discriminate against the handicapped in employment or the provision of service.
The next scheduled regular meeting dates will be Tuesday, October 6 and 20, 2026 in the basement meeting room at 8 a.m. Motion by Stengel and seconded by Street to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried 5-0. Meeting adjourned.
/s/Michael J. Mach,
Chairman,
Grant County Commissioners
/s/ Kathy Folk,
Grant County Auditor
