SDATATAnnual Meeting & Conference …

Will be held Friday and Sat-urday, December 5-6 at the Holiday Inn City Centre, Sioux Falls, SD. We have 50 rooms blocked at the state rate of $50 per room. Once that block of rooms is gone the rate goes up to $94.00/room. Call now (605-339-2000) to reserve your room before they’re gone.

351 WISCONSIN SW, HURON, SD • PHONE (605) 353 1439 • FAX (605) 352-5322 SPRING 2014

INSIDE

THIS ISSUE :

President’s Column 2

From Our Exec. Dir 2

Legislative Report 3

The Challenge 4

Spring Liability 5

2014-15 SDATAT Directors & Staff 6 & 7

Legal Insights - Role of the Supervisor 8

2015 Legislative Issues 10

Parliamentary Procedure 11

April Safe Digging 12

Important Phone #’s 14

S.D. Local Transportation Assistance

Program Is There For Townships

Once again, the SD Local Transportation Assistance Program (SDLTAP) completed a very busy year of service to SD’s local transportation agencies in 2013. It is a pleasure to submit this condensed annual report for review by our customers and funding providers. The program is strong. We kept our staff intact throughout 2013 with some very successful new initiatives which worked very well to better serve SD counties, cities, towns and townships. In addition we provided some service to tribes, road districts and private contrac-tors.

The added service was primarily in three areas - initiating more hands-on training in equipment operation, holding region workshops for managers and a concen-trated effort to reach the township level of government in SD. In addition to train-ing, SDLTAP staff has done extensive technical assistance on ever broadening areas of requests for service. Special thanks to all of our staff for the hard work done in 2013.

Local challenges and budgetary con-straints make our work very challenging, but we look forward to providing the best service we can in 2014.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

This is a very condensed report on important

SDLTAP activities and events in 2013. Mr. Greg Vavra joined the pro-gram as Field Services Manager late in 2012 and that allowed us to provide sig-nificant increased service in 2013. Our greatest improved service was in three areas:

1) initiating hands-on training in equip-ment operation,

2) holding region workshops for manag-ers and

3) a concentrated effort to reach more effectively the township level of gov-ernment in SD.

The test of hands-on training was very successful. One test involved reshape of a gravel road in Campbell County working with county motor grader operators. An-other test was done in a township with operators and supervisors in attend-ance. This work was also complimented by three field demonstrations of chloride treatment of gravel. This involved sur-face shaping and preparation followed by the treatment process with liquid Magne-sium Chloride. These were done in Hughes County, Beadle County and Mitchell Township. This effort will be increased in 2014 as time and staff alloca-tion allows.

(Continued on page 9)

FROM THE DESK OF THE

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR By Maureen Wegenke

PRESIDENT’S COLUMN

By Jim Puffer

The legislative session ended somewhat uneventful for South Dakota Association of Towns and Townships this year. We were mainly involved in three bills; and then some others to a lesser extent. The three bills we worked on were: 1) SB 103, which added a civil penalty to tampering, damaging or remov-ing highway signs. The penalty collected would go to the owner of the sign; whether it be to the state, county, town or township. 2) The second bill was HB 1133 which repealed or revised old laws that no longer had a purpose. Another part of this bill stated that if an annual township meeting is postponed due to inclement weather it would be held the following Tues-day without further advertising. 3) The third bill was HB 1140, an act to permit townships to levy a capital improve-ment property tax for secondary roads, bridges and culverts. This bill would permit a township, at its annual meeting, to vote by a two-thirds majority to levy a fifty cent per thousand tax increase for the purpose of improving its roads. Dick Howard worked very hard on this bill and although it made it through the House, the Governor and Dept. of Revenue op-posed it and it did not make it out of the Senate Committee. I don’t think they understand how unique township government is. Townships spend their money wisely and wouldn’t tax themselves if it wasn’t needed.

On a Saturday night in mid-March, I attended the champion-ship round of the State B Girls Basketball game. In one game a young lady with health problems was put in near the end of the game. She received a pass, the other team’s defense wasn’t as tough as it had been and she had the opportunity to score a basket. Everyone cheered…not just her team but everyone. In another game, a senior player was again put into the game close to the end and, seconds before the buzzer went off, she fired a three-pointer at the basket. It went in, and again every-one in the arena stood and cheered. Whether or not it affected the outcome of the game, these two girls will be able to say they scored in the State Tournament.

When the championship game was about to begin, I noticed a player sitting on the sideline dressed in her uniform but wear-ing a knee brace and holding a pair of crutches. She had been injured and was unable to play. As the opposing team finished their warm up, and before they went back to get the final in-struction from their coach, every player went past the injured player and gave her a pat on the back and a word of encourage-ment. I will probably forget the names of the teams, and even who won, but I will never forget the kindness shown by these young ladies and the fans that cheered for those players. I hope everyone was as proud of the teams as I was. Just another ex-ample of why I’m proud to be from South Dakota.

Have a Safe and Prosperous Year!

PAGE 2

I would like to introduce myself as the new executive director for South Dakota Association of Towns and Townships. Although I have been with SDATAT since 2008 this will be a new position and venture for me. You can expect the same dedication and commitment from SDATAT as in past years. We are here to serve YOU and I will do my very best, on my part, to do just that.

Also new to our staff is Karen Kuhns. She brings many years of expertise to the Association. Many of you may have already spo-ken to her this spring. She will be part time staff and a valuable part of our team!

Just to recap what your membership to SDATAT does for you:

Lobbyist in Pierre

Legislative Alerts and Weekly Newsletters

Annual Educational Conferences

Informational Representation at your County Meetings

Bonding Program

Attorney on Retainer

Township Officers Manual

Quarterly Newsletter

Scholarship Program

Website That Includes: Searchable Manual Sample Letters, Agenda Examples, Templates Informational Presentations & Power Points Calendar of Events Important Phone Numbers & Links Much More So, from questions on filling out forms to requests for infor-mation and everything in between, our office is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Our phone # is 605-353-1439 and our cell # is 605-936-3883. We love to hear from you and would like to know how we can be of assistance.

PAYING TOO MUCH FOR BONDING?

Check into South Dakota Towns & Townships

Bond Alliance Program

After Paying Initial Premium - No More Yearly Payments*

Bonds are Transferrable to Incoming Clerks & Treasurers

Bond Certificates Sent Directly to You & Your County Auditor

Contact: SD Towns & Townships Bond Alliance

LEGISLATIVE REPORT TIME FOR TOWNSHIPS TO UPDATE THE MILEAGE

ON THEIR ROAD SYSTEM TO THE COUNTY AUDITOR

PAGE 3

The board’s annual designation of full maintenance and minimum maintenance roads at its annual meeting and submitting an official map to the County Auditor is im-portant, not only for establishing maintenance require-ments on each road on the township road system, but also for use of the County Treasurer in apportioning highway funds among the townships within the county. SDCL 32-11-6, as amended in 2012 by SB 102, provides that the highway funds (primarily from vehicle registra-tion fees) set aside for the various unorganized and orga-nized civil townships within the county shall be appor-tioned among the townships according to the number of miles of maintained township roads within the town-ships, including roads designated as minimum mainte-nance roads. This does not include no maintenance sec-tion lines as defined in 31-13-1.4.

Therefore, it is important for each township to confirm the number of miles of maintained roads on their town-ship road system annually to the County Auditor to as-sure that the township is receiving its correct share of available highway funds.

By Richard Howard

SDCL 31-13-1, as amended in 2012 by SB 116 defines the township road system as consisting of section line roads; judicially declared roads; roads impliedly accepted by the

township through routine performance of certain maintenance activities, and accepting funds from li-cense plate fees from the county for a period of at least 15 years; and any other roads designated by reso-lution of the board as being on the township road sys-tem. A road may only be vacated through the process specified in chapter 31-3.

SDCL 31-13-1.3, as amended in 2012 by SB 116 pro-vides that the board shall, at its annual meeting, desig-nate which township roads are full maintenance and which are minimum maintenance roads. This section also provides that following its annual meeting, the board shall submit to the County Auditor an official map showing each road on the township road system, including any road designated as a minimum mainte-nance road.

PAGE 4

Throughout America, most of the 500,000+ elective offices are situated at the local and state levels. The sheer number of such positions indicates that a great many citizens are expected to hold public office. In South Dakota, there are nearly 7,000 democratically elected officials (this does not include legislative, consti-tutional or congressional officials). These officials range from county commissioners and other county officials, city council members and mayors, sanitary and road district officers, water development district board members, school board members, township officers, and many others. Most of whom have a responsibility for collecting and spending taxpayer funds (in some cas-es this can be millions of dollars). With more than 519,000 registered voters in South Dakota, more than one out of every 100 must hold some elected office. Factor out those registered voters who may not be “able” to hold public office (i.e. those in nursing homes/the very elderly and others), and this number rises to two or three out of every 100 registered voters.

On the surface, this truly is democracy in its purest form. Local people having local control over local is-sues, yet with one overwhelming dilemma – finding qualified candidates to run for these important offices. In April 2013, according to the South Dakota Secretary of State’s office, 400+ offices were to be filled statewide during this particular election period. How-ever, only 100 elections actually took place. What this means is that for many of these offices only one candi-date ran for each open office, or in a few extreme cases, a vacancy persists (even to this day). This occurs not only in larger communities but even more so in the more rural areas of the state.

With all of the above in mind, the bottom line is that fewer and fewer people are stepping forward to run for local public offices in South Dakota. The resulting im-pact is a leadership void in some communities, and in

the rare cases, an inability among elected bodies to func-tion due to a lack of a quorum.

The Chiesman Center for Democracy (a non-partisan, non-profit organization) has recognized the issue of a lack of local public office candidates as a serious obstacle to a free, democratic society in South Dakota. We have be-gun to work with the SD Association of Towns & Town-ships, the SD Association of County Commissioners/County Official, the SD Municipal League and the Associ-ated School Boards of SD to conduct a thorough analysis (via a statewide research component) of the actual reasons individuals do not seek public office. In addition, we will be working with these entities to further define the issue while developing new methods and strategies that will get more people civically engaged, especially in the rural are-as of our state. These strategies may inevitably require changes to the way we do business and possibly even to state statutes.

In closing, this problem truly requires a new way of thinking that will engage our citizens, particularly those who may be disenfranchised. By doing so, we will be able to work effectively and efficiently to address the challenges in our communities, our counties and in your townships while creating lasting, sustainable change.

Rob Timm, CFRE President/CEO Chiesman Center for Democracy

– Candidates for Local Public Offices in

South Dakota

The air is warmer, I’ve raked up bags and bags of leaves from my yard, and my kids are asking daily if they HAVE to wear their coats…spring must be here! As township officials, you see completely different signs of the change of seasons such as soft roads, washboard roads, wet ditches, and overflowing culverts.

There is certainly an increase in travel and hazards on township roads during the spring. Farmers are moving large equipment to get to the fields, and these big ma-chines can further damage a weakened culvert or a sof-tened road. We’ve had more snow than rain this year, but heavy and sudden rain could wash out a culvert or the side of a road. With the warmer weather, you might see an increase in travel on your roads, as well as an increase in late night travel by young drivers celebrating the end of the school year.

With these added hazards and stresses on your roads, it is essential that your township board implements measures that will help reduce accidents and at the same time, give you peace of mind!

It would be a good idea to do an inspection of your signs to make sure that they are up and in good condition after the winter, and that they are visible. One township that I met with recently does an annual night time inspection of its signs to make sure they are visible to nighttime drivers—what a great idea to put into practice!

Do you have the proper signage for your dead-end roads

SPRING CAN BRING NEW LIABILITY By Tami Schwebach

and t-intersections? Please keep in mind that there may be travelers on your roads that aren’t familiar with your area…not everyone knows about that “dead-end down by the river”! If there are dangerous situations on your roads that might necessitate a new warning sign, make the decision to post a sign—don’t wait until an accident happens.

Check your roads after the first maintenance of the spring to make sure there are no potholes, soft shoul-ders, or other hazards. You may feel as if you are

fighting a losing battle to keep your roads in good shape in the spring, but an acci-dent could be prevented by inspection and maintenance.

Be sure you follow state law by inspecting your culverts at least once a year. As a reminder, when you are notified that a culvert is washed out, a sign is down, etc.,

you have 48 hours to make repairs or put up a barricade. If an accident happens, and you did not repair the road or put up a barricade, you and your township would certainly be held liability for the injuries and property damage from that accident.

One last thing to mention, be sure to keep good rec-ords! Provide information as to the date inspections were done, any repairs that were made, signs that have been ordered, etc. The more records you can produce when an accident investigation is taking place, the better position you will be in to win a lawsuit or settle it before it ever gets to court.

PAGE 5

MEET YOUR 2014-15 SDATAT DIRECTORS AND STAFF

Pictured above are your elected directors and hired staff for the year 2014-15. The SDATAT Annual Re-organization Meeting was held at the Sandy Cedar Lodge in Hitchcock on April 5, 2014.

Officers elected were: President Jim Puffer - Pleas-ant View Township, Beadle Co, Vice President Dar-win Bettmann - Warner Township, Brown Co, Secre-tary, Cindy Foster - Beaver Township, Representing Miner/Sanborn/Davison/Hanson Counties, Treasur-er, Tom Bisek - Lein Township, Representing Rob-erts/Marshall/Day Counties.

Elected to the Executive Board were: Pam Klebsch, Three Rivers Township, Spink Co, David Scott, Jackson Township, Charles Mix Co, and Calvin Musch, Portland Township, Deuel Co.

New Board Member: Mike Vande Weerd, Sterling Township, Brookings Co.

New Staff: Maureen Wegenke, Executive Director and Karen Kuhns, Part Time Staff.

Directors Re-elected: Mark Jensen, Hartland Town-ship, Kingsbury Co., Dan Thyen, Waverly Township, Codington Co., Jerry Lingen, Springdale Township, serv-ing Lincoln, Clay and Union Townships, Rodney Stormo, Hayti Township, Hamlin Co., Ken Siemonsma, Logan Township, Minnehaha Co. and Mike Vande Weerd, Ster-ling Township, Brookings Co.,

Lobbyist/Consultant: Richard Howard

Outgoing Staff & Director: This year we lose two members of the state board/staff. Diane Cordaro, previous executive director who resigned in January; and Al John-son, Director from Brookings County. We wish them all the best in their future endeavors.

All staff and directors are here to serve you. Feel free to contact us with any comments and issues your township may have.

Pictured from left to right: Bottom: Richard Howard, Maureen Wegenke, Karen Kuhns, & Cindy Foster

Second Row: Dan Thyen, Darwin Bettmann, Ken Siemonsma, David Scott, & Calvin Musch

Top Row: Mike Vande Weerd, Rodney Stormo, Jim Puffer, Tom Bisek, Mark Jensen, and Jerry Lingen (Not Pictured: Pam Klebsch)

PAGE 6

Welcome Newest Board Member

We would like to introduce you to our newest board member, Mike Vande Weerd. Mike will be taking Al Johonson’s place in representing Brookings County.

Mike is a farmer in Sterling Township and is excited to get started on the State Board.

He is the Chairman of Sterling Township and was voted on the SDATAT Board earlier this spring by the Brook-ings County Association of Towns and Township.

We hope you will join us in welcoming him to the Board.

Karen Kuhns Joins SDATAT Staff I am excited to join Maureen as part time staff for the township association. Spring is a very busy time for the Association so I am getting acquainted with what truly is front and center in the life of a township in spring in South Dakota. I come to the Association with over thirty years experience working for a trade association which I retired from two years ago. I grew up in Northern South Dakota and moved to Huron in 1976 with my husband and children.

In my spare time I enjoy gardening, yard work, reading and any form of exercise. Five years ago I lost my husband of almost 38 years to cancer and life as I knew it changed in many ways I never dreamt I would be facing. I always imagined what it would be like in retirement but that too isn’t anything like I had dreamed. I have two children and six grandchil-dren and they are my pride and joy and keep me going. I am also a member of the First United Methodist Church in Hu-ron.

I look forward to getting to know more about Townships and meet more wonderful South Dakotan’s along my adven-ture.

Al Johnson to Leave SDATAT Al Johnson, who has been

the SDATAT Director representing Brookings County since 2008 has decided it’s time to hand over the reins. He and his wife Carole have decided to build a house and move into Brookings.

Al has been a very respected part of the SDATAT team.

At the Re-organizational on April 5, Al was presented with an appreciation award for all he has done for the Associa-tion. To be truthful, his wife Carole deserves part of that award as she was often there to help out at many functions. We wish them both a wonderful future in Brookings. Keep in touch, you will be missed!

New Online Map Details U.S. Onshore Wind Turbines

The Federal Interior Department and U.S. Geological Survey have teamed up to produce the antion’s first publicly available interactive map and database of all onshore wind turbines.

The map shows turbines installed as of July 2013 and shows more than 47,000 sites.

http://eerscmap.usga.gov/windfarm/

TWO WEBSITES OF INTEREST

South Dakota Customized Automated Registration System

Renew Your Vehicles Obtain a Seller’s Permit Report of Sale Check a VIN Number Check Availability for a Vanity Plate

www.sdcars.org

PAGE 7

The Role of the Supervisor

LEGAL INSIGHTS

By Jay M. Leibel, Atty

605-256-9161

PAGE 8

QUESTION 4: Must a supervisor be a resident of the town-ship?

ANSWER: Yes, and also qualified to vote. SDCL 8-4-1 indi-cates “any person qualified to vote at a township meeting is eligible to fill any township office. No person may hold township office unless he resides in the township.” Therefore there are two requirements, one being a town-ship resident as well as being a registered voter.

QUESTION 5: Do township supervisors have liability expo-sure as individuals in performing their duties as a township supervisors?

ANSWER: The general rule is they have no personal or indi-vidual liability provided they act as a Board of Supervi-sors. A township supervisor has no authority individual-ly. The supervisors’ only authority is when they act in concert with the other supervisors under the rules gov-erning the operation of a township. In other words, a supervisor increases his individual liability exposure if he acts alone. A supervisor cannot and should not approve or authorize anything individually. It should only be done by the board voting at an official meeting. There are exceptions such as in the case of an emergency. An emergency meeting can be held, via telephone if neces-sary, without advance notice being given.

The decisions of supervisors fall into one of two catego-ries, discretionary acts or ministerial acts. Discretionary acts are defined as those tasks where there is no hard or fast rule as to the course of conduct one must or must not take. These acts general-ly do not subject a supervisor to any personal liability. Ministerial acts are defined as those “which involves obedience to instructions but demands no special discretion, judgment or skill”. If there is a clear or definite responsibility then it falls within the category of ministerial acts. An example of a ministerial act would be when the township receives a valid referendum petition calling for a vote on action taken by the board to vacate a road. Under the law the board has no choice but to conduct the election. It is recom-mended township have errors and omissions insurance as part of their insurance coverage to alleviate or limit the financial exposure of the board and the township.

This article is intended to provide general legal advice to our readers. If you have specific questions you are encouraged to contact the attorney for the SDATAT, Jay Leibel of Issenhuth & Leibel, LLP at 205 North Egan Avenue, PO Box 28, Madison, South Dakota 57042 at (605) 256-9161 or the attorney of your choice.

QUESTION 1: If a township supervisor is unable to attend a meeting, may the supervisor participate by telephone?

ANSWER: Yes. SDCL 1-2-15 authorizes official meetings of the state and its subdivisions to do business by tele-conference. The requirement is that the meeting must be open to the public. That means there must be an arrangement in which the public may listen in to the meeting via telephone or internet. A telephone with speaker phone capability will suffice if it can be heard by everyone in the room. This requirement that the public be able to listen does not apply to executive sessions.

QUESTION 2: May a supervisor bid on gravel or grading contract?

ANSWER: As a general rule a supervisor cannot contract with the township. However, there are specific excep-tions set forth in SDCL 6-1-2. If the situation falls within one of those exceptions it is allowable for the township to contract with a supervisor. There is also an Attorney General’s opinion which states if a con-tract falls within the exceptions of SDCL 6-1-2 it is a valid contract and not a violation of Section 8-9-2.

QUESTION 3: What if a bidder to a contract is the em-ployer of a supervisor? Does that create a conflict of inter-est?

ANSWER: On its face it most certainly appears to be a conflict. A conflict of interest occurs when either a perception or possibility of a conflict exists. However, if there is a competitive bid, more than one organiza-tion is submitting sealed bids, and they are bidding on specific products or services, then it is possible there is no conflict of interest. For example, if all bidders are bidding on crushed gravel, or in the case of snow re-moval is for a fixed rate per hour. Those bids can be compared and the supervisors are required to award the contract to the lowest responsible bidder. To do otherwise would be a violation of SDCL 5-18A-5. There are exceptions such as the township contracting with the county pursuant to SDCL 5-18C-5. In order to reduce the perception o

f a conflict the sealed bids should be sent directly to the Clerk, who then opens them in open session. All bids, in-cluding the lowest responsible bid and all others should be kept by the Clerk so they may be reviewed by any interest party.

PAGE 9

place it, to major issues in providing local road access to agribusinesses and commercial enterpris-es. The major requests in 2013 involved the poten-tial for, or the actual construction of, agribusiness-es such as livestock confinement operations, ferti-lizer and chemical supply companies or commer-cial dairies that must be served by local roads. These situations really tax our ability to provide good advice, but the experience and communica-tion skills of our staff serve our customers very well.

Many requests simply involve the deterioration of the local road and street system with inadequate funds to do rehabilitation or reconstruction. This is also extremely challenging. Many times the advice is to recycle an old pavement and turn it back to gravel, either as an interim surface or as a long term solution when traffic volume is very low and asphalt surfacing isn’t justified.

Traffic safety and proper sign management also made up a significant part of technical assistance requests last year. This is a broad area ranging from questions on rural road geometry carrying very low traffic volume to pedestrian issues on a street in a Class I city carrying several thousand vehicles per day.

The effort to reach townships has been a challenge for SDLTAP. We previously offered far more service to coun-ties, cities and towns. In order to reach townships more effectively, county wide mtgs were held in 12 locations with all townships from the county invited. In one case all townships from three counties were invited. Attendance was over 70 people which made this a very efficient way to provide training. With just over 900 organized townships in SD, it is very difficult to reach every individual town-ship. With the plan just outlined, SDLTAP reached nearly as many townships in 2013 as in the previous 10 years combined. A partial list of topics covered included proper shape of a gravel road, specifying quality gravel, basic traf-fic sign selection and installation, culvert management, right-of-way management, liability issues on local roads and gravel road stabilization.

TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE

50% SDLTAP Staff spent 50% of their time providing technical assistance to constituents in 2013.

SDLTAP accomplishes this via email, phone and on-site visits. Requests are very diverse ranging from simple ad-vice on s lection of the correct traffic sign, and where to

(Continued from page 1)

Reid, Richard Associate Dean-Engineering-Academics & Extension/Professor Civil Engineering (605) 688-4161

Skorseth, Orville (Ken) Program Manager - SD LTAP Gravel Roads (605) 688-4138

Vavra, Gregory Field Services Manager (605) 688-5601

Eggebraaten, Theodore Civil Engineering Technician (605) 691-4665

Hosek, Donald Civil Engineering Technician (605) 491-2133

Weiss, Lawrence Civil Engineering Technician (605) 222-4339

Reuer, Clifford Civil Engineering Technician (605) 209-8932

Vehorn, Nancy Program Assistant I (605) 688-4185

Our People:

By Richard Howard, SDATAT Lobbyist

As the 2014 Legislative Session came to an end, work is al-ready beginning on anticipated issues for the 2015 Legisla-ture. Two issues, effecting townships, that are expected to receive considerable discussion are:

1. Increased funding for state and local highways. 2. Access to public lands or waters open to the public for

recreational use.

FUNDING FOR STATE AND LOCAL ROADS

As reported in a recent article in The Pierre Capitol Journal (and other daily newspapers), written by freelance col-umnist, Bob Mercer, six bills were considered in the 2014 Legislative Session to make it easier for counties and townships to raise addi-tional revenue for fixing roads and bridges. On each bill, someone from Gov. Dau-gaard’s Administration ap-peared as the only opponent. All six bills eventually lost. HB 1140, to allow townships to add a levy of 50 cents per $1000 of taxable value, was introduced by Rep. Burt Tulson and strongly supported by SDATAT. This bill passed the House by a vote of 48-20, but was killed in the Senate Taxation Committee by a vote of 5-2. The other bills were also killed in Committee.

During the Session, the Governor vetoed SB 98, which would have allowed the city of Deadwood to increase their lodging occupancy tax from $2 to $3 per night. In his veto message, the Governor stated “The property tax opt-out already allows local officials to raise additional tax revenues. I do not support expanding the ability of local governments to raise taxes, especially when such a raise cannot be referred to a public vote.” He further stated “ SD has recovered from the recession, but I con-tinue to believe that it is a mistake to increase state tax-es, or to make it easier to raise local taxes.” These were the same arguments that were used in testimony oppos-ing the highway funding bills.

In addition at one hearing, the Governor’s Chief of Staff,

Dusty Johnson, cited the recent $32 million increase in vehicle registration fees when he testified against one of the bills in committee. His point was that all sides needed to let the money settle in and let the local gov-ernments put it to use, while a discussion is taking place, involving all sides about what is really needed for highways in SD. “I think we’ll probably have more of those conversations in the next 12 months than in the last 12 months”, Johnson told the Senate Local Govern-ment Committee.

Also, during the Session, Sen. Mike Vehle of Mitchell was leading discussions on a process for developing a com-prehensive highway funding proposal for both state and

local governments for considera-tion in the 2015 Legislature. Early in the Session, The Senate Trans-portation Committee conducted meetings involving various groups interested in transportation in the state, including local governments. In follow-up to those meetings, the last Committee meeting of the Ses-

sion was devoted to sharing ideas on state and local transportation issues and potential solutions to those problems. Following those discussion, Chairman Vehle, the committee and those present agreed that the process should start first with a survey of agricultural and other organizations directly involved with roads and that there should be a series of public meetings so-liciting grass roots participation. A work group could then be formed to come together with possible solu-tions that could be presented in the 2015 Session. SDATAT intends to participate in that process, and it is hoped, based on Chief of Staff Johnson’s previous com-ments, that the Office of the Governor will also partici-pate.

ACCESS TO PUBLIC LANDS OR WATERS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC FOR RECREATIONAL USE

One of the most controversial bills considered during the 2014 Session that affects townships was SB 169 – “An

(Continued on page 15)

EXPECTED 2015 LEGISLATIVE ISSUES

PAGE 10

We all know that one person who calls you out every time you

don’t quite hit your parliamentary procedure square on the head.

Don’t worry, that person is me. But, by the time we’re through

here, you’ll be able to call them out on all their little hiccups.

First and foremost, it’s always good to know why we have parlia-

mentary procedure. It’s an efficient system devised to keep groups

on topic while making sure that, if you want to talk on something,

you get the right to talk. Generally, so long as you follow these two

rules, everything you do will be in order.

For example, if you’ve got a motion to appropriate $5,000 dollars

to your county ambulance for training, and that’s amended to re-

place ‘training’ with ‘continuing education’ (a motion that would

limit the money to already existing EMTs),

you’d talk strictly about the replacement of

those words and their impact. It would be

out of order to decide that you think they

need more money for this, and you move

to amend the main motion appropriately.

You’d be stepping around the necessity of

debating the ‘continuing education’ mo-

tion.

You always vote on motions newest to oldest. Think of it like pull-

ing a slippery rope. If some rope slips out and your prize at the end

gets farther away, you have to fight back the most recent piece of

rope, then move on to the next closest part. If there’s a main mo-

tion, an amendment, then a motion to table the entire thing, you’d

take the motion to table first, then act accordingly.

Motions are the tools by which you work. Because of this, it’s great

to know the important tools you have at your disposal. By rights,

your bylaws should clarify your ‘governing text’ of law, something

to the extent of ‘Robert’s Rules of Order, Newly Revised, 11th

Edition’.

Your main motion is what makes you do action. It’s also the lowest

ranking motion, meaning you can’t make this apply to something

else. It’s worded by saying “I move to…” or “I move that we…”.

Another good tool to have is the tool of Previous Question. This

motion ends debate. When Previous Question is moved and se-

conded, a counted vote is held and, if 2/3 of the body voted in fa-

vor of the motion, discussion ends on that motion. If you move

Previous Question on an amendment and you say “I move Previous

Question on this motion and all parts”, and it passes, all discussion

is done all the way through to the end of the main motion. No

more debate at all.

Other good tools are the motions to postpone definitely and

postpone indefinitely. Postponing a motion definitely is usually

used when you need more information or run out of time. You

need to declare a time, too. It can be amended to change the

time or date as suited. It’s worded like “I move we postpone

this motion until tomorrow”. Postponing indefinitely is as sim-

ple as saying “I move we postpone this motion” By not declaring

a time, the motion won’t come back unless somebody makes a

conscious effort to revive it. Postponing indefinitely is a great

way to vote no on something without voting no on something.

A process very similar to this is used by

committees in the State Legislature to kill

some motions.

There’s a set of motions that are just a bit

odd, but still rather useful. Division of the

Assembly is useful in larger groups. If, when

voting, everybody yells and it’s somewhat

tough to determine who won, one person

can call for a counted vote. No second is required for Division

of Assembly. To employ this, as soon as the chair announces the

vote, you simply scream out ‘Division of Assembly!’ and let the

magic happen.

Here’s your new favorite motion- Point of Order. This is used

when somebody does something outside of the allowed rules.

You can call this anytime somebody breaks a rule. It could

come in rather handy. Along with Point of Order comes Ques-

tion of Privilege. It’s your bathroom motion. If you need to do

something that would cause a disruption to normal business,

it’s best to get permission from the Chair. Question or Privi-

lege opens windows, can get you a new pen because yours ran

out of ink, or could get you some time for a quick run to the

John.

Outside of motions, parliamentary procedure’s generally in-

credibly confusing. Most people can get the motions right, it’s

just *when* to use a motion that scares us. For example, it is a

horrible, nasty, vile process to discuss something, work it out,

THEN get a motion put through for it. You discuss motions.

Don’t have discussion without a motion. That work should be

(Continued on page 12)

Parliamentary Procedure for Towns and Townships A guide for the Rest of the Population

By: Cully Williams

PAGE 11

done before the meeting, if it needs to happen.

Another huge pet peeve of mine is getting motions to approve the

Secretary’s report and Treasurer’s report. At the beginning of the

meeting, when it’s time to do that activity, everybody needs the

Secretary’s report from the previous meeting. It can be read, or you

can pass it out and ask for questions. If nobody finds flaws with it,

it’s accepted in as-is. One could argue that it is being accepted with

a motion that’s passing by ‘general consent’, but it doesn’t have the

right fit for that in most occasions.

For your treasurer’s report…this is different. This report isn’t for

(Continued from page 11)

Pierre, S.D. – With warm weather around the corner, the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission and the South Da-kota One Call Board remind those planning to do any excavation work that state law requires a call to 811 at least two working days before beginning any digging project in order to give professional locators time to mark the appropriate un-derground utility lines. Such projects include, but are not limited to, installing a fence, planting trees or shrubbery or pre-paring a new garden area.

This spring Governor Dennis Daugaard is proclaiming April as safe digging month and commemorating the South Dakota One Call program for providing 20 years of valuable service by facilitating the location of underground utilities to South Dakota residents.

811 is a free service that connects exca- vators and homeowners to South Da-kota One Call Center personnel who quickly notify all affected utility com-panies of the upcoming excavation plans. Excavators must contact the One Call center 48 hours before dig- ging, excluding weekends and legal holidays. Utility companies will dis- patch their crews to mark the under-ground lines at the respective dig site. Excavators should carefully plan their digging projects to ensure adequate time for notification to South Dakota One Call is part of their schedule.

Last year the South Dakota One Call program received 136,814 locate requests and sent out 807,176 locate tickets to utility companies across the state – a slight uptick from 2012, indicating more South Dakotans are using the program.

“It’s essential that homeowners and professional excavators take time to locate and mark all underground utility lines,” PUC Chairman Gary Hanson said. “Damaged lines can lead to service interruptions and may have detrimental effects on the environment.”

The depth of each utility line varies so the risk of striking a line or pipe exists even a few inches below the ground. To keep the integrity of the utilities intact, it’s important to call 811 even for small projects.

“Our main goal is to protect the public and the working professionals from potential injury,” Erin Hayes, South Dakota One Call Board chairman and director of corporate construction for Midcontinent Communications, said. “Following the One Call process is simple: Call before you dig, be mindful of the marks and dig with care.”

To learn more about 811 and safe digging practices, visit www.onecall.sd.gov.

April Proclaimed Safe Digging Month

approval of the body, it’s for the body’s sake. When your

treasurer says what the money is, that is what it is. There’s

no motion to approve or accept it. If your treasurer says

you’re swimming in gold, that’s how it is. The only group to

say otherwise is an auditing committee or, for your purpos-

es, an outside corporation.

As long as you work motions with the best interest of the

group in mind and don’t talk TOO much (because technical-

ly, you only get two discussions per motion) you’ll do great

in parliamentary procedure. If you have any questions, want

something explained in detail, or just want to contact me for

any reason, my email is cullyweb@cullyweb.com and I’d be

happy to help you however I can.

Parlimentary Procedure (Continued)

PAGE 12

FREE PETROLEUM TANK REMOVALS

The South Dakota Department of Envi-ronment and Natural Resources want to protect our environment by removing all

abandoned underground petroleum storage tanks.

Visit our Website at http://denr.sd.gov/TankYank to determine if your tanks(s)

are eligible for the free program;

Or

Contact Terry Florentz at the Depart-ment of Environment and Natrual Re-

sources now!

Phone: 605-773-3296; or email: denrin-ternet@state.sd.us

EMC

DIVIDENDS

UNCLAIMED

In February of this year South Dakota Association of Towns and

Townships sent out EMC Safety Dividend checks to individual

member townships. Checks totaling $6695.90 still have not

cleared. If you are a member of SDATAT, have your insurance

with EMC Insurance Company, and have elected to participate

in the Program by signing a Dividend Assignment Form; you

should have received a dividend. If you did receive it and have

not cashed it we would ask that you cash it as soon as possible.

Please send any inquiries to:

SDATAT or Email: PO Box 903 sdtstaff@santel.net Huron, SD 57350 605-353-1439

PAGE 13

Important Phone Numbers

SDATAT Office

Maureen Wegenke .............................. 605-353-1439

SDATAT Fax .................................... 605-352-5322

SDATAT Lobbyist

Dick Howard .................................... 605-224-8503

SDATAT Attorney

Jay Leibel ......................................... 605-256-9161

SDLTAP (Road Assistance)

Brookings Office ................................ 800-422-0129

SD Dept. Legislative Audit

Rod Fortin ....................................... 605-367-5810

(bids, contracts, audits)

SD Dept. of Revenue

Colleen Skinner ................................. 605-773-5120

(opt outs/special taxation)

Sales Tax Division ............................... 605-773-5141

SD Dept of Transportation

Doug Kinniburgh ............................... 605-773-4284

(Local Govt Assist./Signing Grant Program)

SD Office of Attorney General

Diane Best ........................................ 605-367-7804

(Open Meeting Laws)

Office of Emergency Mgmt

Jason Bauder or Jack Dokken ................. 605-773-3231

(Public Assistance/FEMA)

Jim Poppen

Hazard Mitigation Grant

SD Governor’s Office

Patrick Weber ................................... 605-773-5999

Your County Highway Supt ...................

Your FEMA Public Assist. Coordinator .....

Your County Auditor ..........................

PAGE 14

Act to provide access to and use of public waters on public and private property and to protect private property rights for the citizens of SD.” It dealt with public access and recreational use of lakes that have been formed above private land in recent years in the northeast counties, particularly Day County. The bill was developed as a proposed compromise between rights of private property owners and the public use of the water for hunting and fishing by sportsmen. As with most compromises, neither side was totally pleased with what was proposed. At the Senate State Affairs Committee hearing on the bill, there was testimony from both sides with a group of 13 land owners from Day County opposing the bill as taking away private property rights. The bill was later tabled by its prime sponsor on the Senate Floor.

SDATAT’s involvement in the bill was related to pro-tecting the Township Boards’ authority, responsibil-ity and liability in managing section line rights-of-way to provide public access in a manner that is safe to the driving public and to reduce township liability exposure. Before the bill was tabled by the Senate on Feb. 18, an amendment was proposed which would have allowed counties and townships to va-cate section line highways leading to public land and to waters open to the public for recreational use so long as at least one point of public access was still maintained.

Another bill, SB 146, which related to the ability and methods for counties and townships to manage ac-cess on section line highways was withdrawn by its

(Continued from page 10) prime sponsor after SB 169 was defeated. Meetings involv-ing the Governor’s Office, GF&P, DOT, Sportsman Groups, County Commissioners and SDATAT were held during the Session. One of the main issues of the Sports-man Groups was their claim that Township Supervisors, County Commissioners and individual landowners in the northeast part of the state were closing vehicular access to hunting and fishing sites by closing roads for “safely rea-sons”, and alleged that the roads were really being closed to limit access.

SDATAT countered that allegation with the township position that often roads are closed to protect the safety of other users of the roads, such as visitors and residents of rural developments, school buses and mail carriers, and to pro-tect water-soaked and water-covered roads from further damage by vehicles, such as 4-wheel drive pickups. I also stated that often highways users go around or bypass barri-cades that have been installed for public safety.

Follow-up items discussed at the meetings was for Sportsmen to document cases where they feel access is being denied by non-legitimate road closures. Likewise, townships and counties are encouraged to document cases of removal or bypassing barricades that have been installed for safety or road protection reasons. The purpose of this documenta-tion is to determine the magnitude of the access problem that is occurring and to determine if the problems can be handled by enforcement of existing laws, or if legislation may be required for consideration in the 2015 Legislative Session. One potential solution discussed at the meetings centered around giving townships (and counties) the au-thority to designate certain section line roads that are closed to vehicular travel for safety reasons as “abandoned” roads, and to allow such abandoned roads to be classified as “no maintenance roads”, with “no travel advised “. Further meetings are planned during the summer.

Legislative Issues

Ag United

Brosz Engineering

Butler Machinery

Dakotaland Federal

Credit Union

Diesel Machinery Inc.

Farmers Union of Aberdeen

Glacial Lakes Energy LLC

Hofland Engineering

Milbank WinWater Works

Pierce and Harris Engineering

Schwebach Insurance Agency

SD Beef Industry Council

TruNorth Steel

SDATAT ASSOCIATE MEMBERS Please Patronize the Following Supporters of Grassroots Government:

PAGE 15

Postmaster: Send notices or change of address forms to Huron, 57350-0903. *If readers have any comments, corrections, submissions or display ads for this publication, call 605 353-1439 or FAX (605) 352-5322. This newsletter is agricultural inks printed on recyclable paper.

SOUTH DAKOTA ASSOCIATON OF TOWNS AND TOWNSHIPS(SDATAT) ISSN 1072-2505 Published quarterly to provide information, education and technical assistance to local governments, by the SOUTH DAKOTA ASSOCIATION OF TOWNS AND TOWNSHIPS, PO BOX 903, HURON SD 57350

MAUREEN WEGENKE, EDITOR AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Creative Printing, Huron, SD Registered with the Library of Congress.

Jim Puffer, President…………... Hitchock Darwin Bettman, Vice Pres……..Aberdeen Cindy Foster, Secretary...…….......Fulton Tom Bisek, Treasurer.........New Effington Calvin Musch, Exec. Board.…...Clear Lake

David Scott, Exec. Board…...…....Geddes Pam Klebsch, Exec Board…….....Redfield Rodney Stormo, Treasurer..………..Hayti Jerry Lingen, Director…...…...Sioux Falls Mark Jensen, Director…….....……Erwin

Dan Thyen, Director….………...Waverly Ken Siemonsma, Director..…..Dell Rapids Mike Vande Weerd, Director.........Bruce

South Dakota Association

of Towns and Townships

PO Box 903

Huron, SD 57350

Prsrt Std

U.S. Postage

PAID

Permit No. 180

Huron, SD 57350