SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – A divided Minnehaha County Commission signaled Tuesday that it will not bring a November ballot measure to consolidate three elected offices into an administrative form of government.
While the commission did not vote on the issue, the discussion among its five members followed more than an hour of testimony from proponents and opponents of adopting a home rule form of government. Commissioners Jean Bender and Jen Bleyenberg said they were open to studying the idea, but they hinted that a move to put home rule on the November ballot was too early.
“To be successful, I think we would really need to see some perspectives from both sides put in the document,” Bleyenberg said.
She spoke after an overflow audience weighed in on the idea of creating an administrator to oversee the offices of county treasurer, auditor and register of deeds. Supporters argue it would be more efficient to combine the offices and give one person greater authority to make decisions for the state’s largest county. While the three offices are elected, the part-time County Commission is required to sign off on contracts and other decisions, sometimes leading to delays. The commission would have authority over the administrator.
But opponents argued that “efficiency” would come at the expense of voters, equating the idea with centralized, collective governments that are not responsive to the people. Several said they liked the system as it is, with voters responsible for overseeing the offices.
Many opponents were supporters of Auditor Leah Anderson. Anderson has a strained relationship with the commission over her doubts about how elections were conducted in the county prior to her election in 2022.
“To say this has nothing to do about Leah is hogwash,” Gary Meyer said. “It’s all about Leah.”
Neither Anderson nor Minnehaha County Treasurer Kris Swanson spoke Tuesday. However, Register of Deeds Amanda Halsey, who is new to the office, said the proper avenue to remove officials from office was via the ballot box.
“This position is more than a job to me,” she said.
Minnehaha County voters considered a move to an administrative form of government in 2002. Voters narrowly rejected that.
Former Commissioner Cindy Heiberger said she participated on the study committee prior to her 12 years on the commission. She said the process had been open to the public and transparent. And while she saw advantages to the idea of home rule, she also criticized the proposal that was debated Tuesday. That proposal would have eliminated the elected positions in January, even though voters had opted to put them in office for four years.
“I don’t think that’s fair,” she said.
But former Commissioner Jeff Barth, a member of the body for 16 years, said he favored the idea. He forwarded the scenario in which an elected highway superintendent refused to plow the roads in winter. The commission, he said, would be powerless to fire the person because it’s an elected position.
He also argued the current form of government is outdated, equating it with driving a 1940s-era pickup.
“Times change,” he said.
Following the testimony, Commissioner Joe Kippley said that the proposal would go to the ballot in a November election, where the largest number of voters could weigh in – if not this year, in 2026.
Kippley, who has challenged Anderson and her supporters, said the commission often hears from the same people, and he wants to know if they are a “vocal minority” or share the support of a broader electorate.
“Our goal was to solicit feedback from the public, and we appreciate the turnout today,” he said.
