Several West River sheriffs say they will have to pick up more law enforcement work on major highways if Gov. Mike Rounds succeeds in cutting the state Highway Patrol budget by $2 million.

Rounds said the cut is needed because the state's Highway Trust Fund, which funds the Highway Patrol, is dwindling. The money would be saved by delaying the purchase of new patrol cars, trimming overtime for troopers and using more stationary patrols rather than driving patrols.

But West River sheriffs say they already are responding to many accidents on major highways that the Highway Patrol can't get to.

Further reductions in Highway Patrol operations would shift even more of the burden to the counties, they say.

Meade County Sheriff Ron Merwin said he thinks the Highway Patrol's Northern Hills squad probably responds to more accidents than any other squad in the state.

"If they're not here, who gets them?" Merwin said. "We'll have more accidents to investigate."

Already, his deputies have been responding to more accidents that the Highway Patrol formerly handled, Merwin said. "It seems like over the years, we do more and more accidents. They seem to be shorthanded."

Pennington County Sheriff Don Holloway said the cutbacks on overtime could mean troopers leaving work early or not coming in at all when they're out of hours.

"The patrol isn't out 24 hours a day, seven days a week, here anyway," Holloway said. "We are. So we're constantly picking up the slack when they're not around. Whenever something happens, whenever there's a call, if there are no troopers on, we respond to it."

Sheriff's deputies would shoulder more of the load if the proposed budget cut stands, Holloway said.

The state House of Representatives passed a bill restoring the $2 million to the Highway Patrol budget. But the bill was gutted Monday by a Senate committee.

Jackson County Sheriff Bruce Madsen said he and his one deputy already respond to a lot of accidents when the Highway Patrol isn't available. Jackson County has 49 miles of Interstate 90, in addition to S.D. Highway 73, Highway 240 in Badlands National Park and the county roads.

Madsen said he doesn't have the manpower to take on even more responsibility for accidents on I-90. "Maybe I'm wrong, but I think that's the state's responsibility," Madsen said. "The federal government built that interstate and gave that to the state of South Dakota, not Jackson County, to maintain and take care of it."

Madsen, in his 34th year as Jackson County sheriff, said the Highway Patrol in past years had two troopers in major towns along I-90, including Wall, Kadoka and Murdo.

"Now they have one in Kadoka, two in Wall, and none in Murdo," he said.

However, at Murdo, Jones County Sheriff Fred Koester said he doesn't think the cutback would affect his area much. He said a new trooper is supposed to come on board in Murdo next summer.

When there's an accident or other incident, troopers respond from Kadoka, Philip or Wall, Koester said.

The patrol's District 3, which covers most of western South Dakota, is authorized 43 full-time staff, including 36 troopers, according to a spokeswoman for the Department of Public Safety. Currently, there are 30 troopers on duty in District 3. Four recruits undergoing training will join their ranks in August.

Statewide, the Highway Patrol is authorized for 162 full-time troopers, including five who provide security in the Capitol in Pierre. The Patrol had 177 troopers before cuts were made in 1982.

Merwin said the counties are picking up the workload.

"I know that, as the population has increased, the counties have stepped up and hired more deputies and cities have hired more policemen, but the Highway Patrol has gone backwards," he said.

He said law-enforcement officers who work a lot of overtime can get burned out, even if they become financially dependent on the extra pay.

"It seems to me it would be cheaper to hire more personnel than to pay for all the overtime," Merwin said.

Although Custer County isn't on the interstate, it depends on the Highway Patrol for help, Sheriff Rick Wheeler said.

Wheeler said there are four Highway Patrol officers serving the Custer area, two short of the full complement. Two more troopers are expected to come on board in the fall, he said.

Madsen questioned the wisdom of having five troopers guard the Capitol and the trend over the years of moving troopers from the rural areas to the bigger cities.

Madsen said the problem is "too many people worried about payday and quitting time. They're not worried about the public safety out there."

Contact Steve Miller at 394-8417 or steve.miller@rapidcityjournal.com