State fund helps 911 centers consolidate, with more mergers on the way

South Dakota has awarded more than $630,000 in the last year to facilitate three emergency dispatch consolidations, using funds from a statewide fee increase on phone lines that lawmakers approved to support efficiency and equipment upgrades.

The consolidations were recommended in a 2025 efficiency report commissioned by the South Dakota 911 Coordination Board. The report recommended the board financially assist consolidation efforts and target consolidations of centers with low call volumes, staffing shortages and high costs per 911 call.

The board created a grant program last year for consolidation costs and equipment upgrades using a portion of funds from a statewide $2 monthly fee on phone lines and 2% tax on prepaid wireless services. State lawmakers raised the fee from $1.25 to $2 in 2024 and made the increase permanent last year.

The board puts $80,000 a month into the 911 efficiency grant fund, which currently has $640,000 in it.

Seven of the state’s 32 dispatch centers were identified as consolidation candidates in the 2025 report. The board has awarded funding for three consolidations so far:

• $65,370 for Sanborn County and the Mitchell Police Department in October 2025.
• $237,744 for Miner County and Lake County in October 2025.
• $327,121 for Lawrence County and Spearfish this month.

The other centers identified as consolidation candidates are in Spink, Moody, Fall River and Butte counties.

Spearfish and the Lawrence County dispatch center in Deadwood are 15 miles apart in the Black Hills. The two plan to merge by January, with Lawrence County’s dispatch center absorbing Spearfish’s center and one of its dispatchers. The move will cut two dispatch positions.

Jamie Pesicka Olson, with the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office, told board members the consolidation would ensure Lawrence County residents receive dependable emergency communications.

“It improves coordination and operability and efficiency,” Pesicka Olson said.

Michelle DeNeui, a state 911 board member who recused herself from the award decision because she works for Spearfish, said the county is an “oddball” because it had two dispatch centers. Most dispatch centers serve multiple counties.

The grants can help county commissions get past the initial hurdle of short-term consolidation costs, said Jason Husby, the state’s 911 coordinator.

“This is where previous consolidations fell: Two agencies wanted to join, they see this initial cost and then they back out of it,” Husby said.

Perkins County Sheriff Kelly Serr, who chairs the 911 board and the subcommittee that reviews applications before they come to the board, said the Spearfish-Lawrence County merger would pay for itself within nine years.

The Miner-Lake consolidation should be wrapped up by the end of the year, said April Denholm, director of Lake County 911 Communications. Radio equipment and software still need to be installed and tested. The grant primarily covered those costs.

Consolidation makes sense for smaller, rural counties, Denholm said. While the average Miner County resident likely won’t notice much change, it can mean faster response times and cost savings for the county.

“With Miner being a much less populated county, running a full-time dispatch center is a drain. Running a dispatch center is a drain for any county, but making sure you have someone there 24/7 is more difficult with a smaller county,” Denholm said.

Before the Miner-Lake consolidation, Miner County Dispatch had also covered Sanborn County’s emergency calls. Denholm said her center couldn’t absorb Sanborn’s needs, which is why Sanborn merged with the Mitchell Police Department dispatch.

Crow Creek Sioux Tribe and Buffalo County dispatch centers, in central South Dakota, are working to merge with the Winner Police Department dispatch, according to the Department of Public Safety. The board has not yet received a funding request for that consolidation.