This is a guest post by Sioux Falls City Councilor Pat Starr. I agree with Pat that we should NOT be paying for this entire project by ourselves. Our Fire and Police chiefs should be working with the finance department on how we can save money and build partnerships. I think ALL department directors should be looking at ways to be more fiscally responsible.
Emergency preparation and response are fundamental responsibilities of government. These are always at the top of the planning list when we discuss budgets and people.
Sioux Falls has a public safety need. It’s a big one. The projection is a $30 million dollar bond issue. The problem here is, it is planned to be a $30 million bond issue with the citizens of Sioux Falls on the hook for it.
The City needs to provide an adequate training facility for its Police and Fire Departments. The need is real. Current facilities are substandard and the departments have outgrown them.
Now, this is where the discussion begins. We know the need. The Sioux Falls Police and Fire departments have put forth a plan for addressing their needs.
Keep this in mind, their needs. The vision needs to be bigger. Sioux Falls is the regional leader in business and entertainment. We need to be the leader in public safety as well.
As we review plans for bonding and facilities, we must consider the needs of our region and include them.
Sioux Falls does not have our only emergency responders. We must consider how we can build a regional facility to train local, county, state and federal safety personnel. Look around the Sioux Falls area. If there is a major emergency in our area, don’t you want highly trained responders?
There are many hard working public servants in addition to Sioux Falls Police and Fire including:
1. Minnehaha and Lincoln County Sheriffs and Deputies
2. SD Highway Patrol
3. Game Fish and Parks Officers
4. SD Department of Criminal Investigation
5. SD Penitentiary Officers
6. FBI
7. US Federal Marshal Service
8. TSA – airport security
9. Homeland Security
10. Sioux Falls ambulance
11. Regional community ambulance crews
12. Regional partner fire departments
13. Regional partner community based law enforcement
14. Civil Air Patrol
I am sure everyone can add to the list – but the bottom line is, all levels of public safety personnel need state of the art training to protect the citizens of Sioux Falls and the region.
This is not a vanity bonding project as so many of our recent bonding projects we have been in Sioux Falls. This is public safety.
Training all levels of our emergency responders does not stop at our city limits. We must have our responders knowing how to work with their regional partners. There must be regional cooperative agreements so all responders receive the training that keeps us safe.
The funding must come from all levels of government. The citizens of Sioux Falls cannot be the sole funding source for this extremely important regional project.
There must be a search for and securing of state and federal grants.
I encourage you to become involved. This plan will happen quickly and will be decided by the end of 2019.
$30 million is asking too much for the handful of the people of Sioux Falls, with promises to let other responders use. Simple statements don’t protect us. We need all regional agencies to be fully trained for them and for us. This project is too big for just Sioux Falls to own and control.
l3wis 
