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NCREC handles dispatching services for 10 counties


Dispatcher Cindy Rische watches over six seperate computer screens that are active during emergency calls that come into the North Central Region Emergency Center located in the law enforcement center in Mobridge.

The North Central E911 Emergency Center (NCREC) in Mobridge services an area that includes the land from the Montana border east to Mina Lake.
There are 10 counties included in the regional center, including Perkins, Harding, Corson, Dewey, Walworth, Campbell, Potter, Edmunds and McPherson counties in South Dakota and Sioux County in North Dakota. It is an area bigger than several northern East Coast states combined. There are eight full-time dispatcher position at the center and one part-time position. It is from this center that all emergency services in the area are dispatched to the scenes at which they are needed. All fire departments, sheriff’s department, police department, ambulance service and emergency service calls come through this center.

The center is governed by a board made of two representatives from each county served, one responder and one member of the county commission.
Curt Rawstern of Selby represents Walworth County and is chairman of the board. Kevin Holgard is the commission representative.
The board is governed by a set of bylaws and meets twice a year. Its members have the power to make appointments to the board, pay bills, deal with service complaints and approve of new and updating software.The NEREC is supported by the Public Service Answering Points (PSAP) funding. This funding comes from the surcharge on landlines that is part of resident’s monthly phone bills.
The funding flows from the State of South Dakota to counties. One-hundred percent of PSAP funding is then turned over as required by state mandate. The surcharge funding is designated only to the PSAP fund and must be spent within the restrictions of that fund. If a county wanted to keep part of the PSAP funding for anything other than the emergency communications centers, they would be in violation of the state mandate.
According to Heather Beck, Mobridge city administrator and finance officer, who is also the secretary for the NCEC board, in 2013 at the state’s request the financial administration of the centers was moved to the point of origin, meaning in this case, Mobridge.
Both the city and county agreed to this action.
The City of Mobridge staff does the bookkeeping for the PSAP funds at no cost to the taxpayer. NCREC contracts with the city to provide personnel and operation of the center.
Both the State of South Dakota and auditors from county members audit the bookkeeping of the PSAP funding
Despite some questions about the PSAP funding, the City of Mobridge does not get any money from the PSAP funds.

Funds
In 2020, the PSAP funds totaled $368,853 in revenue for the NCREC, all spent on the center.
Four dispatcher salaries are paid for out of that money. Mobridge pays for the other four, covering the dispatchers that would be needed for the city if the emergency center was not here.
The city’s portion of this dispatcher contract is $230,961.
The total expenses of the NEDEC center is covered right now by the $347,721 in surcharge in 2019, but the decline in the number of landlines in the E911 area is becoming a problem.
According to Jacque Rawstern, assistance finance officer for the city, for the past two years, the number of landlines in the NCREC coverage area has decreased by between 5% and 6%. In 2015, there were 2,544 landlines in Walworth County. In 2019 there were 2,171 landlines. Other counties in the region are also experiencing the shrinking in the number of landlines.
Eventually the shrinking number of landlines will present a funding problem.
Beck said the board members has spoken with representatives of the South Dakota Legislature to hopefully address this issue on the state level.
Beck said this includes changing laws to include funding from wireless phone revenue. She said plans are to working in conjunction with representatives early this summer pending the approval of the board.
Beck said according to the bylaws of NCREC, the government entities (counties) are responsible for funding the updating of rural addresses, signage and maintenance.

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