Beadle County States Attorney Mike Moore and county commission chairman Tom Hansen spoke at Thursday’s state of the county luncheon at the Huron Event Center. The annual luncheon is designed to give Beadle County residents a better understanding of county government.
Moore told attendees that the criminal justice has changed significantly over the past 10-20 years, with more offenders entering treatment programs rather than being incarcerated. He said the drug court shows the potential of these kinds of programs to not only be successful but also save taxpayer dollars. 10-12 people are currently enrolled in the Beadle County drug court.
Hansen gave a presentation on property tax which demonstrated how tax dollars are split between the county, towns and schools. He also explained how the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines are benefiting the county in the form of tax dollars, with Dakota Access alone expected to generate around $112,000 in new tax revenues annually for Beadle County.