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Bennett County Broke — Best Option Buffalo Commons?

Forget Detroit; let's talk about a local South Dakota government going bankrupt. Peter Harriman offers a hefty article on the financial crisis of Bennett County. The southern South Dakota county doesn't have the resources to sustain county services.

The problem is only partly population. Bennett's 2012 head count showed 3,431 residents, more than 21 other South Dakota counties. The big problem is our tax system. The county's only source of revenue is property tax. A quarter of Bennett County's land, mostly in the northwest quadrant, is tax-exempt American Indian trust land. (The whole county was part of the Pine Ridge reservation until 1910, when Congress authorized the sale of land in what South Dakota declared Bennett County in 1909.) 45% of the county's population lives on that tax-exempt land, and only a quarter of the residents, 858, pay property tax. The county could opt out of the property tax cap, but they can only squeeze so much revenue out of that minority of taxable property holders.

The county would like to pursue other sources of revenue, like an alcohol tax, but Governor Dennis Daugaard refuses to allow anyone to pass new taxes:

“The governor is not in support of raising more revenue now at the local level,” Dusty Johnson said. “He does think opting out is an option for local governments” [Peter Harriman, "When a County Can't Survive," that Sioux Falls paper, 2013.08.04].

Suppose we authorized Bennett County to tax something other than land. Jump past alcohol to all commercial activity: Bennett County had $32 million in taxable sales last year. Allow the county a 1% sales tax, and they add $320,000 to their $1.4-million budget, enough to cover their shortfall. But the state will have none of that.

Neither will the state allow an income tax... though what income would Bennett County tax? Another part of the problem is the lack of jobs. There's not much work in Martin or Allen. The county is surrounded by the Pine Ridge and Rosebud reservations and the wide open empty of western Nebraska, offering few easy commuting opportunities. That lack of economic opportunity is driving up crime, which is driving up Bennett County's expenses.

(And don't forget: Bennett County is the North American continental pole of inaccessibility, meaning they are farther from sea ports than anyplace else on the continent. That's got to figure negatively on some economist's spreadsheet.)

It may well be that Bennett County, due to history, demography, and geography, lacks the resources to sustain a county government. Their situation may be analogous to the situation here around Lake Herman: some folks would like a central sewer system, but there just aren't enough residents with enough wealth to build and maintain such infrastructure.

So if Bennett County can't afford to provide physical and social infrastructure, maybe it's time to turn Bennett County over to a population that doesn't need infrastructure. Maybe it's time to cash in Bennett County's chips and found the Buffalo Commons. Assess one last double tax levy to administer a relocation program. Move the folks willing to move (with an additional incentive for folks who move who agree to stay in South Dakota). Make clear to folks who stay that there will be no county to plow or repave their roads.

Then turn loose all the buffalo we can find. Let the big critters re-establish the high prairie ecosystem that we've wrecked with fence and roads that we can no longer keep up.

And finally, cede the entire county back to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.

Harriman's article suggests there is no viable administrative solution for Bennett County. They don't have the wealth to sustain their county government. The state won't let them seek other revenue sources. Surrounding entities cannot or will not take on the costs of doing county business. So is Bennett County's only option to go out of business?

The buffalo may hope so.

10 Comments

  1. interested party 2013.08.05

    *low hanging curveball*

  2. Jerry 2013.08.05

    Interesting history of Bennett County and how it got established in the first place. The best thing for them would be to fold the tent and give the land back to the owners. Denny could then show that he is a man of his word about the tax schemes, Jackson County, your next. The Pine Ridge Sioux Tribe could then assimilate them back to their original homeland. Let the buffalo roam and the deer and the antelope play. Irony alert!!

  3. Joseph G Thompson 2013.08.05

    Best option, if land owners won't provide money for county government, is to return the county to an unorganized status or return it to the tribe. Haven't an understanding of what the tribes get in the way of services from the county, but if they get any seems to me they should be paying something for those services and not be expecting land owners in Bennet county to fund services to reservation residents. If I am wrong I would like to be enlighteded.

  4. Douglas Wiken 2013.08.05

    Allow counties to deny service to those who pay no taxes. Turning the land with a huge percentage of Indian Land on it into tribal area would not help the county unless the tax burdens consequent to Native Americans in the environment is eliminated as a county law enforcement or health and welfare sinkhole. The Native Americans could then also pay for their own voting system on their sovereign nation.

  5. MC 2013.08.05

    Cory, Doug, Sounds like a winner to me. Let's make it happen!

  6. Jerry 2013.08.05

    Just had to throw in the "pay for their own voting system on their sovereign nation" at just the right time in the debate. Good work!
    I think that if Bennett County were assimilated into the tribe completely there would still need to be a voting system that would be under the jurisdiction of the State of South Dakota or else elections would and could be held up indefinitely. As republicans complain now about voting on the reservations, they would be screeching foul if there were no control by the state.

  7. John 2013.08.05

    The solution is simple: consolidate Bennett County into Jackson County. This occurred earlier with Washabaugh County and, further west with Washington County, further north with Armstrong County.

    This state continues having excessive government.

  8. caheidelberger Post author | 2013.08.06

    We've consolidated before; would we lose much by doing it again?

    No state west of South Dakota has more counties than we do. California has more population and land; it has 58 counties. North Dakota has similar area and gets by with 53 counties. Washington 39, New Mexico 33, Wyoming 23, Arizona 15. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/County_statistics_of_the_United_States)

  9. Wayne B 2013.08.06

    John has a fair point. We have 66 counties. That's a lot of government duplication. As technology allows us to overcome distance barriers (I can electronically file to register my vehicles, the most common reason to go to the county seat), we can allow greater distances for service.

    Bennett's in a rough spot. The writing's been on the wall since the Martin Hospital announced it needed to close up shop.

    Dissolving the county entirely and turning Bennett County into a nature preserve is an option, but it seems a little premature at this point. Merging with Jackson would be an interim stop gap until the rural population naturally evacuates...

  10. caheidelberger Post author | 2013.08.06

    Yeah, but Jackson County doesn't want 'em! Jackson County Commission chairman Glen Bennett tells Harriman that Bennett County can basically take a flying leap:

    ---“I don’t think there is anything Jackson County can do to resolve their situation,” Bennett said of Bennett County. “Personally, I don’t want anything to do with it. They can go to another county.”---

    Jackson County also has similar woes, with lots of tax-exempt tribal and federal land.

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