By: Makenzie Huber, SD Searchlight
South Dakota Republican Gov. Kristi Noem’s proposal to cut the state’s maintenance and repair budget by $17 million is “shortsighted,” a former Cabinet member said at a state board meeting Thursday.
Noem is proposing to fund the maintenance and repair of state buildings at 1.25% of replacement value instead of 1.75%.
Pam Roberts was appointed to her second term on the South Dakota Board of Regents by Noem in 2022. Roberts is also a former South Dakota Republican Party chairwoman and former secretary of the South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation. During Thursday’s Board of Regents meeting, Roberts said she was disappointed in Noem’s repair and maintenance recommendation.
“We have such a huge investment in buildings and facilities across the state, and to reduce that at this point is, I think, a little shortsighted,” Roberts said. “And I’m very concerned about it, frankly.”
The state normally sets a maintenance and repair goal of 2% of replacement value, said Heather Forney, vice president of finance and administration for the regents, during Thursday’s meeting. She said the system has talked with the six state campuses about how the cut would impact their ongoing plans.
The Board of Regents will take the biggest hit if lawmakers accept Noem’s proposal, losing just over $9 million. The Department of Executive Management, which maintains executive facilities, faces a $6.4 million cut. Technical colleges face $824,007 and the state Department of the Military faces $593,302 in cuts.
The regents requested an increase of $7.4 million for maintenance and repair.
Executive Director Nathan Lukkes said during his report Thursday that state universities will “be at the table to see what we can do” to come out “the best we can” by the end of the 2025 legislative session, which starts next month. He added that he has “the utmost confidence” in lawmaker’s ability to “do the right thing for the state and the system.”
“This is really just the start of the conversation,” he said.
The maintenance and repair reduction is one of numerous cuts Noem proposed earlier this month during her budget address, in response to the depletion of federal pandemic relief funds and declining sales tax revenue.
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