My Account | Mobile Site

By Scott Aust, Journal Staff Writer RAPID CITY
After more than an hour of discussion Monday night, the Rapid City Council approved next year's $99 million budget appropriation ordinance with a couple of amendments. The council narrowly approved an amendment to fully fund the city's share of the detox center and dispatch budgets by using an additional $68,000 from reserves. Before passing the amendment, the city had planned to use $3.78 million in undesignated reserves — money that is included in the budget to make it balance but which historically hasn't been spent. The city and Pennington County share the cost for dispatch and detox. Forty percent of the dispatch budget is paid for by 911 funds. Of the remaining 60 percent, about two-thirds comes from the city, one-third from the county. The detox budget is prepared by the sheriff with advice from a users committee. It receives a substantial amount of state and federal funding but is underfunded. The unfunded cost is shared equally by the city and the county. The initial budget included increases for both detox and dispatch, but the increases were less than requested. Police Chief Craig Tieszen told the council that if the city didn't fund the entire amount requested, the county would reduce its budget accordingly and the result would ultimately be a reduction in services. Tieszen said underfunding the detox budget could result in the loss of four to six beds. He reminded the council that a few years ago, 10 beds were added on practically an emergency basis. "We were literally hauling drunks around in the backs of police cars," he said. The other amendment eliminated pre-meeting meals for the council, a savings estimated at about $5,000 to $6,000. Alderman Jeff Partridge said he was troubled about dipping into reserves. He presented a list of proposed cuts to a list of nearly $3.5 million in subsidies that added up to about $112,000 that could be used elsewhere. "I think we need to get real serious about what's important," he said. But his proposal to cut the budget and fund detox died for lack of a second. Another amendment for the council to reduce the subsidy list by $33,000 and then use the money for detox was voted down 8-2. Other failed amendments included adding $35,000 to pay for a sign and scoreboard at Roosevelt Swim Center, adding about $10,000 to implement a streaming video system for meetings, and to save about $30,000 by opening Horace Mann Pool a month late next year. The council voted 8-2 to approve the amended budget. Partridge and Alderman Sam Kooiker voted no.