The stale air in Chairman Davies’ garage was thick with the smell of old motor oil and stale coffee. This was their preferred meeting spot—covert, informal, and, critically, entirely unlawful under state open meeting laws. Davies, Vice-Chairwoman Albright, and Secretary Thompson were hunched over a laptop, the screen illuminating their faces in the dim light….
…2 to go. I meant to post this update a while back, and was just reminded when the two remaining dumplings sent out another email. Just a heads up, I had to edit the image on Canva to create one picture. I did not change the text. You know, not like Bob Hummel did when…
The fluorescent lights in the district assembly hall cast long, unflattering shadows as the three members of the Road District’s Board of Trustees convened. Chairman Davies, Vice-Chairwoman Albright, and Secretary Thompson sat around a scarred oak table, the map of the two-mile main district road laid out before them. “He’s not a ‘rabble-rouser’, Davies,” Albright…
Marcus Thorne sat across a polished mahogany desk that probably cost more than his first house. He was in the office of J. Sterling Hatcher III, the most respected private practice attorney in Union County. The office smelled of leather and money. “Mr. Thorne,” Hatcher said, steepeling his fingers. “Your documentation is… comprehensive. Impressive, even.”…
The dust motes danced in the slanted afternoon light of Marcus Thorne’s living room. Outside, the world of Union County, South Dakota, moved at the slow, predictable pace Marcus had chosen years ago. He was retired, an engineer by trade, a widower by circumstance, and a man who simply wanted to tend his garden and…
To impose a lawful special assessment in South Dakota, governing bodies (such as municipalities or, by reference, road districts) must follow a strict, multi-step process that ensures due process and proportionality of benefit. This process is highly procedural and detailed in SDCL Chapters 9-43 and 9-55. Here are the general legal steps required: 1. Project…
What actions could the state attorney take to assess the validity of the special maintenance fee in Union County? The Union County State’s Attorney, Eleanor Vance, could take several official actions to thoroughly assess the validity of the road district’s “special maintenance fee.” Her options involve formal reviews, legal opinions, and potentially initiating legal proceedings….
The significance of a special assessment exceeding the special benefits to a property is that it constitutes an unconstitutional “taking” of private property by the government. A special assessment is a fee levied on a specific property to fund a public project that provides a direct and quantifiable benefit to that property, such as a…
The fluorescent lights of the Union County State’s Attorney’s office hummed in near silence, save for the rhythmic clicking of the air conditioning kicking on. Eleanor Vance sat back in her leather chair, her gaze fixed on the glowing monitor. The spreadsheet showing the county’s budget was open, but she wasn’t seeing numbers. She was…
A clear example in South Dakota case law where the principle of “special benefit” was enforced strictly, leading to an assessment being invalidated, is the 2010 South Dakota Supreme Court case concerning the City of Pierre’s curb and gutter project. While the case did not specifically use the term “flat fee,” it effectively struck down…
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