City, county inching closer to law enforcement pact

Judging by events that took place at the July 22 meeting of the Custer County Commission, it appears the City of Custer and Custer County may be nearing reaching an agreement on a new contract for the county to provide law enforcement for the City of Custer once more.
Nothing is a done deal yet, however, as a proposed requirement for the contract received by Custer County in its most recent letter from the City of Custer has provided the latest sticking point in the negotiations.
Custer County Sheriff Derrick Reifenrath spoke to the commission at the meeting regarding the letter, saying while most of the negotiating between the two entities has been done behind the closed doors of executive session he wanted to talk about the issue in an open setting at the commission meeting in the “spirit of openness” and in the hopes that doing so will answer some of the questions the public has regarding the issue.
“We’ve been in negotiations with Custer for approximately a year. That stalled out for some time, and it looked like there would be no contract or future conversations,” he said. “I reached out to the mayor, council members and had some discussions  in trying to kick start this in the name of public safety.”
Reifenrath said in the latest letter received from the city there is a statement that reads “the city’s agreement to the financial framework is contingent on the parties reaching agreement on the full written contract, including an appropriate scope of services. In particular, the city requests the scope of services provide for 24/7 coverage upon signing, consistent with the terms of the party’s previous contract, which includes strong visibility and presence in the city.
“While the city understands the sheriff’s staffing concerns, this most material provision cannot be substituted for precatory language in the hope that some day the sheriff may be able to provide regular coverage within the city.”
Reifenrath said flatly that is not possible at the office’s present staffing levels.
“If I accept this that would mean I have to dedicate six deputies to doing those patrols in the City of Custer, which would leave me with six, including myself, to patrol the rest of the county,” he said.
Reifenrath said he has duties that do not allow him to patrol frequently, and Lt. Dave Clevenger must also be in the office a lot to handle administrative duties while overseeing communications.
“If I accept this contract and say, ‘yes, I can do this’ we would have four deputies patrolling the county,” Reifenrath said. “We can’t do that. I’m letting you know I can’t do it, and I’m letting the public know I can’t do it.”
When the city’s contract expired with the county at the end of last year the county stated it would not replace retiring sheriff’s office personnel to compensate for the decrease in money lost as the contract expired. With those retirements the county has maintained it has three-and-a-half fewer full-time equivalent positions in the sheriff’s office than it did this time last year.
Reifenrath said upon signing a contract his office would immediately begin law enforcement services and enforcement of city ordinances, but that 24/7  coverage was a non-starter until staffing levels allowed the office to resume doing so.
“If I can get back to the level we were we would look at beginning to staff 24 hours and definitely once we reach full staff and the six deputies I’m asking for to do that would be scheduled specifically to the City of Custer,” Reifenrath said, adding those deputies would not be intermingled with county coverage so both can be properly addressed.
At its July 6 meeting the Custer City Council authorized its attorney to send a new proposal that would see the city pay Custer County $600,000 a year for the next five years to have the Custer County Sheriff’s Office provide law enforcement services in the city once more.
It is unclear the counteroffer that was made by the county, but Reifenrath implied there had been a counteroffer with a provision to see increases of some sort as the years went by, as he mentioned the city’s letter having “terms in it financially that would put us back in the same situation we were at the end of this last contract with a flat rate fee across the board.”
Reifenrath said the latest letter from the city indicated the council was OK with increases. 
That means the 24/7 coverage immediately language may be the last hurdle between the two entities agreeing on a contract.
“In my visits with the mayor and (city alderwoman) Peg (Ryan) I was under the assumption they understood that. I’m hoping that’s a miscommunication between their legal team and the city council,” commissioner Craig Hindle said. “Hopefully we can work through that.”
During his time before the commission Reifenrath also asked for, and received, permission to hire another deputy regardless of where the contract with the city comes out.
Since the time the contract with the city ran out, he said, his office has been learning what it’s like to work with three and a half fewer deputies, he said, saying the office has been extremely busy and “running all over the place.”
The Custer School District has agreed to foot the bill for the school liaison officer, with deputy Matt Haugen set to fill that position. Interviews were held to replace Haugen on patrol, with Reifenrath saying two strong candidates emerged. One candidate was offered a conditional letter to join the office, while the other was told the office would like him as soon as staffing levels allow.
“He said, ‘OK, I’ll wait,’” Reifenrath said. “I’m asking to hire another deputy.”
The commission approved the hire, along with hiring former deputy Jeff McGraw on an as-needed basis.
Reifenrath said there are times, such as when prisoners have to be shuttled back and forth, that the office is left short-staffed, and the as-needed position could fill in those holes.
“I think the time has come we could need that help,” Reifenrath said. “Historically we have used reserves, but historically we have had reserves who are retired and that’s not the case right now.”