BELLE FOURCHE—The City Council convened for another special session on Monday, January 12, marking the second such meeting in less than a week. The first was held the previous Thursday, January 8.
The meeting attracted significant public interest, with the gallery filling quickly as attendees anxiously awaited Mayor Randy Schmidt’s official call to order.
The session came on the heels of the third Council vacancy in less than a week, as Councilperson Donald Elliott (Ward 3) resigned. This follows the resignation of Alderman Lee Capp (Ward 2) and the expulsion of Councilwoman Rhonda Schild (Ward 1) for violations of the Code of Ethics.
City Attorney Kellen Willert briefed the council on new state laws that came into effect with the new year regarding the filling of vacant seats. “There’s no requirement for the body to do a special election, but they now have the flexibility to do the election or fill the vacancy by appointment,” he explained.
Before opening the floor for public comment, Mayor Schmidt solicited input from the crowd. “The intent of this meeting is to see what the council would like to do, if they would like to have a special election or to appoint—but I would like at this time, if I could see a show of hands, who would like a special election and…who would like to have just the council appoint?”
A majority of those in attendance voted in favor of a special election.
Several Belle Fourche residents addressed the council and voiced their support for their right to choose who represents them, and encouraged the council to hold a special election.
One citizen, Falina Selchert, announced her intent to run for one of the open seats.
Two others expressed their disappointment in how the City Council handled the removal of Councilperson Rhonda Schild. Don Elliott stated, “South Dakota law does not allow an elected official to be removed simply because a video appeared on the internet. The power to remove an elected official is limited, narrow, and must be exercised through lawful due process, not public outrage or political pressure.”
Councilperson Kristal Steeves addressed the room, stating, “Maybe this is the fire this community needed to get back in the game on these local elections. Getting a seat on this council impacts the roads we drive on and things in our community. So showing up for meetings is amazing, I love it! The last two meetings have been so fun to walk in and see people here and hear the chatter, and so continuing that—please keep coming to meetings and vote, show up for the vote!”
The City Council voted to reconsider its action taken at the Special Meeting held on January 8, where they voted to appoint a Council Member to replace Alderman Lee Capp’s vacant seat.
Ultimately, the council voted to schedule a special election to fill all three of the vacant positions. There is a vacancy in Ward 1, Ward 2, and Ward 3. The Special Election to fill the remainder of each term is scheduled for April 7, 2026.
For the upcoming election, the petitions will be available February 6; those will be due no later than 5 p.m. on March 6.
Mayor Schmidt emphasized that, despite the three vacant seats, the council will not stop moving forward. “To me you’d love to have a full council, because you get the discussions when things come up, and they can discuss and decide on how they’re going to vote,” he said. “But we’ll continue to move forward and keep the plan going forward—it’ll be kind of tough and it’ll be a little more work at the council meetings.”
The absences will impact committee meetings. “Our committee meetings aren’t happening—it’s really nice when you can have those committee meetings,” said Schmidt. “It’ll take us a little more work and maybe a little more time, but we’ll get to it—we have hard-working people on the council, so that’s what is really good!”
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