Lawmakers hear request to reestablish East River fire‑management officer to train volunteers; budget office flags funding method

Sponsor and advocates told the joint appropriations committee that Senate Bill 217 would appropriate $750,000 over four years to fund an East River Fire Management Officer to expand local wildland training and support volunteer departments on the east side of the state.

Steve Oberle, vice president of the Coyote 1 Association and a 30‑year volunteer firefighter, said the East side of the state has lacked sustained training and staffing since a federal grant that formerly funded a similar position expired. "We started seeing a need with more and more people, smaller departments, East River coming to us asking questions on how we did, how we get involved with the state, how we ask for funding, how we train," he said.

Brad Vosberg, a retired Sioux Falls firefighter and volunteer leader, told the committee the previous state‑funded position allowed departments to develop wildland skills and that reestablishing the post would improve safety and reduce reliance on out‑of‑state assistance.

The Bureau of Finance and Management raised a fiscal‑policy objection. "This bill seems to create a permanent position that's ongoing in nature. However, Senate Bill 217 funds it with one‑time dollars," Brandy Meisner told the committee. She recommended instead that the legislature consider the motion‑sheet process to place ongoing positions into the general appropriations act.

Committee members asked about historic funding and operations: Tyler Steen, division director for emergency services at the Department of Public Safety, said the federal grant that previously supported the East River role expired in 2006 and that since then wildland training has been provided on a combination of volunteer and existing state staff efforts. Several members suggested a smaller motion sheet — one member estimated roughly $160,000 to fund a single staffer with a truck, supplies and computing equipment — as an alternative to the $750,000 four‑year proposal.

The committee deferred action on Senate Bill 217. The bill sponsor said he planned to withdraw the bill and pursue a motion‑sheet request for a more modest, ongoing funding approach.