I recently read and appreciate your thoughtfulness commenting on the reduction of 102 full time equivalent positions, or FTEs, that were made in the last 18 months through attrition in departments throughout state government.

I was, however, surprised to learn of your apparent disappointment with the increase in FTEs that has occurred since 2003.

The increase in state government employment has come with specific plans in mind.

Here are some examples:

y We created the Science and Technology Authority, which employs nearly 100 people. Would you prefer not to have the Sanford and Homestake Laboratories?

y We added 23 firefighters for duty in the Black Hills, all paid for with federal funds, not state tax dollars. Would you prefer they be located in Colorado or Wyoming?

y We have record enrollments in our universities. Thousands of our young people are choosing to study here, and as a result, the Board of Regents has added 861 FTEs - paid for primarily with student tuition. If our university system is growing and teaches more of our kids in South Dakota, we need enough instructors. Would you prefer those students and their tuition dollars go out of state?

y We started counting employees of state boards and commissions, and those FTEs were not counted before.

I've asked for legislative approval in every case and received it after explaining the intended benefits for our residents. It doesn't mean we haven't reduced FTEs in other areas of government. We have. But these increases were specifically designed to improve services for South Dakotans at a minimum of cost. In most cases, the positions are funded by federal money, tuition or competitive grants, not with state taxes. The federal money will either be spent here or in a different state. It will not be saved or returned to the taxpayer.

Government provides services, and we do our best to provide maximum services without increasing taxes.

By the way, we still have the lowest state taxes per person in the country. At the same time, we're growing the research and technology capabilities of our state; more young people are staying here than ever before; and people want to come back to South Dakota. We are moving in the right direction.

Thanks for the opportunity to set the record straight.