Codington County Commissioners Review 2027 Budget Requests in Watertown

Northeast Radio SD News – Watertown, SD - The Codington County Commissioners continued their 2027 budget review during their August 4, 2026, meeting, focusing on mandated county expenses and funding requests from outside non-profit agencies.

County Auditor Brenda Hanten presented the figures to the board, detailing slight adjustments to state-mandated pools and highlighting mostly stagnant funding requests from local organizations.

Mandated Expenses Show Minor Adjustments

Hanten walked the commissioners through the mandated expense line items, noting that the county must cover these baseline costs. The majority of the categories remain unchanged from 2026, including fees for domestic abuse (paid to the Beacon Center), catastrophic legal defense, unemployment, predatory animal control, flood monitoring, and collection agency fees.

However, Hanten identified a few line items where the county was able to lower its budget based on current tracking data.

“Develop disabled in Custer, I lowered that because there’s only three individuals at this point,” Hanten explained to the board. “Board of mental illness, I did lower that, just kind of tracking what we have this year. Waterfowl production, I did lower that, kind of tracking what we’ve paid the last few years.”

Hanten recommended a slight increase to the county’s wheel tax budget.

“The way we’re tracking, we might be just a little short in that... so I put that one up just slightly just for next year,” Hanten noted.

Non-Profit and Outside Agency Requests

Following the mandated items, Hanten presented the 2027 budget requests submitted by various non-profits and outside agencies. Most organizations requested the exact same funding amounts as they received the previous year.

Those requesting flat funding included:

·         Memorial Day Supplies

·         Mellette House

·         Codington County Historical Society

·         Economic Development (Focus Watertown)

·         Tourism

·         Watertown Humane Society ($20,000 request)

·         Zoological Society

·         Beacon Center (General domestic abuse support)

·         Watertown Cares

Only a few agencies asked for increased financial support for the upcoming year. Hanten reported that the Human Service Agency (Mental Health Center) requested a 1.5% increase, while the Boys and Girls Club requested a 3% increase over their 2026 funding levels.

Additionally, the Inter-Lakes Community Action Partnership (ICAP) requested a slight increase. Hanten clarified that this bump is tied directly to the wages of the individual who manages the local Watertown office.

“They just do that every year according to the support cost,” Hanten explained. “It’s basically more so about that, a slight increase for that individual wages.”

Pending Requests

During the discussion on the non-profits, Chairman Troy VanDusen and the board briefly discussed the Watertown Humane Society’s $20,000 request, noting that the organization is slated to move into a new building on the northwest side of town.

A commissioner then inquired whether the Soil Conservation District had submitted their support request yet. Hanten confirmed that they had not, but assured the board she would follow up.

“Yes, there's a few that I'm still waiting on and that's one of them,” Hanten stated. “I’ll be reaching out to them again... and I’ll have those for you next week when we wrap up with coroner.”

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