Thursday night the South Dakota Highway Patrol says it did not put the safety of the public at risk during the recent snow storm because of proposed budget cuts.

The head of the department says five troopers were scheduled to work in the Sioux Falls area Christmas Day, and when the snow storm got worse he says an extra trooper was called into work and another was called in early. 

As KELOLAND News first told you Wednesday night, the Highway Patrol had only five troopers working several shifts during the Christmas Day snow storm in the Sioux Falls area. 

And Colonel Dan Mosteller said the patrol did everything it could to make sure the public was safe on the highways that day despite the Governor's proposal to cut two million dollars from the department's budget.

Troopers in the Sioux Falls area have gone from accident to accident over the past two days. And the head of the Highway Patrol says his troopers have been responding to those accidents and the dangerous road conditions appropriately. 

South Dakota Highway Patrol Colonel Dan Mosteller says, "Throughout the day I had a total of six troopers working, some of them longer shifts, and some of them were shorter shifts based on the calls and need to be out there." 

Colonel Mosteller says five troopers were originally scheduled for Christmas Day because the Highway Patrol did not expect five inches of snow to fall in the area, but when the snow started falling they called in help. 

KELOLAND News asks, You're making conscious decisions as far as how much overtime people are working with the pending budget cuts? 

Mosteller answers, "One thing that I have to do as the chief of the Highway Patrol, I have to be conscious of the overtime, and during the Christmas holiday troopers want to be off just as well as anybody else and I tried to grant as many days off as I can especially during the holidays." 

But Colonel Mosteller says even though the Highway Patrol is facing a two million dollar shortfall, public safety will not be cut short. 

Mosteller says, "The highway fund shortfall that you're referring to does affect the Highway Patrol but it does not translate into a public safety gap. Public safety still remains a top priority for the Highway Patrol."

Mosteller says to make up for the two million dollar gap the patrol will delay buying some new vehicles and change the way they patrol, to reduce the amount of miles they drive and the amount of gas they use. 

Several calls to the Governor's office for comment on the proposed budget cuts were not returned Thursday.