So, what do we think about it?

The above isn’t just a headline, it’s a question. It’s a question we have been asked a lot lately, and it’s a question we still get asked when it comes to how things shook out in terms of the county and city failing to find agreement on a new contract for the Custer County Sheriff’s Office to continue to provide the saw law enforcement coverage for the City of Custer that it has provided for the last number of years.
It is a question we were asked by both sides of the story when we were conducting interviews and research for the story. What do you think? Our answer was always the same—we can see both sides of this argument.
This issue reminds us a great deal of the long-debated VRBO issue. That was an issue that came to a boiling point at Custer City Council meetings, as people fed up with living next to what they described as “glorified hotels” showed up at council meetings fit to be tied over the constant traffic, people coming and going, trash, noise, etc. Eventually, after much debate, the city voted to enact a moratorium on vacation rentals outside of commercially zoned areas. It was a decision we could get on board with. Custer is overrun with vacation rentals, and there is nowhere to live in this town.
Having said that, we could easily argue the opposite side of this as well. If you own property, shouldn’t you be allowed to do what you want with it? And who wouldn’t want to make $150-$300 a night renting out a house rather than $1,000 a month and dealing with tenants and all of the problems that can be accompanied by them. Yes, it’s certainly easy to see  both sides, and it’s certainly easy to argue both sides effectively.
Such is the case with the law enforcement issue. We took an informal poll on the issue on our website, and it was pretty much a deadlock (although with very few votes). The people we have talked to just want a resolution reached. They don’t really seem to be “cheering” for one side or the other. Of course, people in the city and people in the county likely look at the issue much differently.
Yes, we can see the county’s point. Custer does generate a lot of the calls, because that’s where the largest population is. The county feels to continue to provide the service the city wants, it needs more money to do so. It had a number in mind, came off the number some, made a few pitches and was rejected. So, it moved on. For the sake of planning for the coming year, it had to do so.
We can also see the city’s point of view. Jumping from the current contract to $750,000 a year was a pretty steep jump. Granted, late in the negotiations the county did offer a contract that would have allowed the city to ramp up to that amount. But our city leaders did not feel that type of money was justified, with Mayor Bob Brown saying he had heard from constituents who were adamant the city not pay that amount.
It’s anyone’s guess how this plays out now, and we don’t know the  impact of no contract. We will learn those, if there are some, as the months go by this year.