Dear Ms. Semmler and South Dakota Department of Revenue, I am writing as a concerned South Dakota landowner regarding the collection of road district fees. Your department has previously published materials that clearly distinguish between a special assessment and a special maintenance fee (SDCL 9-43-138), the latter being a tool available only to municipalities and…

Over the past couple years, I have learned something uncomfortable about local government in South Dakota: Transparency is often praised in public, but much harder to find in practice. I recently asked a local sheriff’s department for bodycam footage from a public road district meeting attended by a deputy while on duty. I was initially…

In South Dakota, the “Closed Loop” often relies on technical confusion to keep people out of court. Regarding Small Claims, there is a significant distinction between the Clerk of Courts and the Judge that the board’s lawyer likely used to get your case dismissed. 1. The Clerk’s Role: Procedural Acceptance In South Dakota, the Clerk…

A county can collect millions of dollars for ten years through fees that have no basis in state law. Yet, their likely defense is simple: “We thought we were doing it right.” This is the central flaw in South Dakota’s oversight system. The defense of “good faith error”—often used as a legal shield—means that as…