Government Officials

While the State faces the daunting task of cutting over $900 million from the budget this year and who knows how many billions next year, it would seem easy to look over the State’s allocations and start whacking away. Believe me, it’s not that easy.
Let’s look at one particular item, buried deep in the Judiciary budget: the Sentence to Serve Program, just one of the items on the Governor’s chopping block. This program takes prisoners out of the local jails and allows them to “work off” part of their jail time, as well as other direct costs. The city of LeCenter has used the Sentence to Serve program several times. The prisoners there helped paint the city owned swimming pool, cleaned up debris along Highway 99, helped with brush chipping, worked at the city/county recycling center, painted city buildings, and picked up trash at the local parks. These probationers work hard. They finish their work with a real sense of accomplishment. Today a city council woman from Waterville shared a story with me of a recently released prisoner who asked her for directions to the local park he had worked on a few years ago. He was proud of the work he had done and was eager to revisit the fruits of his labor.
These tangible benefits are totally lost in the monetary considerations of a budget crisis. It is so important that we as a State take a holistic and systematic view of the costs and benefits of any program. There is so much at stake.

I recently held a town meeting in a small town on the Western side of my Senate district. As the town meeting turned its focus to the budget crisis, one gentleman stood up claiming to have all of the answers regarding Minnesota’s budget woes. He said he had a proposal for “solving the state’s budget deficit without raising taxes.” I said I was interested in his “list” and he said he would be sure to send it to me. Sure enough, a few days ago I received a document outlining what some of those cuts might look like. Here is a small sampling of some of what Minnesota could expect (and I quote):

• Eliminate intrusive and ineffective home visiting and mental health screening programs
• Eliminate Early Childhood Professional Development
• Eliminate Kindergarten Readiness Assessment and Intervention Programs
• Eliminate Preschool screening and ECFE (Early Childhood Family Education)
• Eliminate Early Childhood Literacy
• Eliminate After School Community Learning Grants
• Repeal the public school staff development mandate
• Reduce the number of MNSCU campuses
• Require the DNR to fully self-fund via fees
• Eliminate Local Government Aid
• Reduce Court appropriations and increase attorney’s annual license
• Reduce Human Rights Department funding
• Provide Health Insurance subsidies, not Health care services and payments

No thank you. If this list is a solution, count me out. The cuts to early childhood education alone would set this state back 30 years creating a host of problems for years to come. We need to reaffirm the connection between intelligent investments and the public benefits we receive in return. We are a state of community minded people who care about our children, our neighbors, the elderly, and the poor. We value these public assets and most of us are more than willing to pay for them.

The document to which I refer comes from the Minnesota Budget Solutions Coalition which includes organizations such as the Minnesota Majority, Taxpayers League of Minnesota, Minnesota Family Council, and NFIB Minnesota Chapter… to name a few.

At our January goal setting session, the Council took a look at the 2009 goals and began to revise them.  What were goals are now called Strategic Directions to reflect their broad, on-going nature.  The Strategic Directions are:

• Continuously improving communication with citizen advisory groups and community

• Building a foundation for a vibrant community where resources are carefully managed and preserved and which integrates economic, environmental and community values for long term success

• Providing city facilities to ensure excellent service to our citizens within the financial limitations of the city

• The Council will implement a systematic approach to problem solving and decision-making

Jim Pokorney and I have been tasked with simplifying, prioritizing, and organizing the goals and action steps under each of these direction.    More to come after we finish our assignment and the Council weighs in again.

The City has 3 major facilities included in the 2010-2014 CIP. The new “Safety Center” (which is now planned as 2 facilities, 1 for Fire, 1 for Police) and an expansion of the Library.   For now, specifics about the Library project can wait since it is third in this line.

Financing for facilities projects: On February 9, the Council discussed how we would finance the Safety Center and Library projects, briefly, and deferred any decision (more info from packet).   The City would issue bonds, but there is a choice of bond types, each of which comes with different requirements for the types of projects it may be used to finance, interest rates and issuance costs, and the big political issue: referendum (general obligation bonds) or no referendum (CIP bonds)?

The Council’s decision to defer the issue was because we are waiting for additional information about the design/location of the project from the architect to be hired soon.   We must be able to describe the project in sufficient detail so voters understand what they’re being asked to spend more of their tax dollars to build.  Since we have not yet identified a location for the police station and questions are still coming about whether it is possible to build the fire station on the current site, it’s safe to say a few wrinkles need to be ironed out.  On the flip side, if we opt NOT to take the issue to a referendum, we still need to know these details to be able to convey our decision to the public and justify it.

Then there is the economic reality: Is this the right time to raise taxes to build 3 major facilities?   There is probably never a time when citizens like to see their taxes rise, but would the additional tax burden be too great for our citizens and our businesses (remember, the tax rate for commercial/industrial property is higher, so all tax decisions fall more heavily on the business community)?  And the governor is looking to claw back another $700,000 or so in local government aid for 2010 (with another $1+ million of LGA left to disappear), so the City finances are looking worse all the time.

If I was confident about these projects, I’d prefer not to take them to a referendum. The issues were aired extensively during the 2008 campaign, have been discussed frequently and at length since that time, and I believe we were all elected to make these choices.  There’s the cost of the referendum, too.   Don’t forget, there is a reverse referendum for the CIP bonds, so if you think we’d made a mistake, it can be undone.

But I’m not confident. I’m convinced of the space needs for Police, Fire and Library (See the Police/Fire timeline and the project page).  My biggest problem is continuing to receive information which questions previous information which makes me question the reliability of all the information leading to the Council’s initial decisions.  I’m nervous about the tax impact.  I’m anxious about moving ahead boldly on too many fronts – major facilities, major annexations, major budget cutting.   Over on Locally Grown, Mayor Mary Rossing describes the decision making process and asks what other information we need to make a decision.   I need help identifying the relevant/significant information, not necessarily more or different information.  But, on to the next step:

Architect RFP for the Safety Center.  Read the RFP. The committee to select the architect has been named:  Erica Zweifel and Rhonda Pownell are the 2 Council members on the committee.   Also on the committee: Steven Schmidt, Schmidt Construction; Brian Erickson, Public Works Operation Engineer; Mark Taylor, Police Chief; Joel Walinski, City Administrator; Mr. Steve Spehn, Director of Facilities and Capital Planning for Carleton College.

Not much blogging has happened in February.  None, actually.   Not many Council meetings, either.  We only had 2 meetings in February, so there could have been additional time for blogging if I hadn’t been out skiing so much.

There is a small swarm of issues buzzing around which were discussed in February and are continuing to circle.  In the swarm:  Major facilities (Police, Fire, Library) and their financing, annexation, land development code, city finances, Council goals.

A thorough and informative article was published by Doug Grow from Minnpost.com titled “Budget forecast highlights the vastly different federal stimulus views of Pawlenty and state economist.” 

As it states in the article, Gov. Pawlenty has been in “attack mode” regarding almost everything the Obama administration has been doing including the federal stimulus money.  However, quietly praising his approval of what Washington has done is Minnesota’s own State Economist Tom Stinson.  Even Pawlenty’s commissioner of the Office of Budget and Management, Tom Hanson, agrees that the feds’ stimulus money has had a positive impact on putting signs of life back into Minnesota’s economy.

 Stinson noted that economic signs now are far better than those seen last summer and credits the Federal stimulus as a spending tool that has had a big impact on turning the economy around.  He further stated that “without federal action we’d be losing jobs big time.  The recession would have been extended for a year, at least.”

 Also in the article Gov. Pawlenty is quoted as saying “My critique of stimulus spending is that it should have been focused differently.”  A favorite plan promoted by Pawlenty is reducing taxes for corporations and small businesses in order to hire more workers.  A video interview with business icon Warren Buffett contradicts this suggestion, when he says more money to people like him will not increase the spending he already does.  More money to the middle class will promote spending, thus promoting demand, thus promoting jobs.  A similar message is penned in today’s column by Paul Krugman in the New York Times.  “.. the Congressional Budget Office says that aid to the unemployed is one of the most effective forms of economic stimulus, as measured by jobs created per dollar of outlay.”

The Star Tribune reported on the failure of the legislature to override a veto of a bill which would have stopped the transfer of 32,000 people from General Assistance Medicare to MinnesotaCare.  Since many of those covered by GAMC are veterans, or homeless, or people who suffer from mental illness, MinnesotaCare may not adequately address their needs.  The legislation would have addressed needed reforms to GAMC and these have also been vetoed. A chart is linked here to view the issues.  As reported in the article, House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher and House Minority Leader Kurt Zellers will continue to work on a better solution than the automatic transfer which is scheduled to take place on April 1.

On Monday, March 15, at 9:00 AM the Minnesota Supreme Court will address the arguments for and against the unallotments made to the budget by Governor Pawlenty.

In a Friend of the Court Brief from the League of Minnesota Cities, an argument is made that the legislature, when passing the unallotment statute in 1939, does not intend a result that is absurd or unreasonable. Basically, courts shouldn’t allow an absurd interpretation of legislation when a reasonable one can be applied. Quoting from page 23 of the brief:

if unallotment authority can be triggered based on purely subjective standards, a governor could hypothetically choose to unallot an appropriation that he first rejected using his line-item veto even after the legislature has voted to override that veto. Or a governor could hypothetically choose to unallot and reorder appropriation priorities based on any type of report demonstrating a decline in receipts by as little as $ 1. Finally, it is truly absurd to think that the legislature would have ever intended to relinquish its constitutional power of appropriation to the executive branch at the beginning of the biennium when there has simply been a breakdown in budget negotiations.

In another Friend of the Court brief filed by the Minnesota House of Representatives, the argument is made that the Governor exceeded his constitutional authority. Page 18 quotes the Constitution:

Because the power to veto is located in article IV, the power “is an exception to the authority granted to the legislature” and “must be narrowly construed to prevent an unwarranted usurpation by the executive powers granted the legislature in the first instance.”

The brief filed on behalf of the Governor argues in turn that

At their core, these arguments attempt to impose requirements – such as the statute only applies to small, unanticipated deficits arising late in the biennium – found nowhere in section l6A.152. Respondents and amici rely on purported conditions in the statute that simply do not exist.

Imagine Junior working and saving for years, pocketing part of the money he earns on his paper route, hoping to squirrel away enough money for a down payment on his college education. That’s a nice story until Dad breaks open the piggy bank to skim off some funds that he says aren’t being used.
The same story is being played out in the Minnesota state budget. Workers forward part of their hard earned pay into dedicated funds only to see the Governor raiding their piggy banks to transfer the money to the General Fund. Last year the Governor proposed eliminating the Health Care Access Fund and transferring all provider tax revenues into the general fund. Why should the Health Care Access Fund serve as a slush fund to pay for projects unrelated to health care or to balance the state’s budget?
This year we learned the Governor’s supplemental Budget was to transfer $267,000 from the snowmobile dedicated account and another $400,000 from the ATV account to the General Fund. Only after organized outrage from these groups did the Governor back down from that proposal.
Electrical contractors are seeing a $1.5 million transfer from the Construction Codes and Licensing Division’s continuing education fund to the General fund. These dollars were paid for by electrical contractors from across the state to offset costs related to education courses, seminars and registration fees for necessary ongoing and required training.
Pick up the daily paper and you will read more of the same. The Star Tribune reported today the Governor’s supplemental budget calls for $1.2 million to be taken from the state’s Water Recreation Account – funds generated by the 860,000 boaters in the form of fee and boat registration – and transferred to the General Fund. Projects that include boat ramps and canoe and boat route management get axed.
More and more of our dedicated funds are not finding their way to their original and intended purpose. Those paying into these various funds are left holding a broken piggy bank with less incentive to continue paying. They are angry and rightfully so. Allowing this practice is a dangerous precedent and will lead to further raiding of our dedicated accounts.

Yesterday, the Minnesota Senate voted to override the Governor’s veto of a bill that would basically eliminate General Assistance Medical Care. There are numerous reasons why the Senate feels this is the right thing to do. Among them:
• The Governor’s veto of the GAMC will take away health care for 85,000 poor and very sick Minnesotans.
• The legislature’s plan maintains coverage for 50,000 more people than the Governor’s plan also for a longer period of time – sixteen months (Legislature) vs. one to six (Governor).
• The Governor’s plan will cost $254 million to cover 21,000 GAMC recipients. Our proposal will cover 85,000 Minnesotans for $252 million.
• Our plan cuts costs through smart reforms and better cost sharing. The Governor offsets the cost of his plan by eliminating health care coverage for more than 20,000 working Minnesotans. This bill is cost neutral and does not raise taxes.
• The Governor’s veto will cost thousands of hospital jobs across the state and force hospitals to shut down programs or close their doors. Failure to provide prescription drugs and care for some of those suffering mental illness could lead to jails becoming the access point for health care.
• Those on the program make less than $8000/year. Thousands of those using GAMC are Veterans.
The House will take up the bill on Monday. They had bipartisan support on the bill’s first vote there a last week. An override would mean three Republicans would need to stick with their first vote. Simply put – this is the right thing to do for thousands of the poorest and sickest Minnesotans.

The Sustainable Farming Association of Minnesota held its 19th annual conference at St. Olaf College on Saturday, February 20th.  SFA’s mission is to support the development and enhancement of sustainable farming systems through innovation, demonstration, education, and farmer-to-farmer networking.  Mark Richie, Minnesota Secretary of State gave the keynote address “Farming 2020, A Sustainable Vision.”  The conference theme was Sustainable Farming 2020: What does it look like?  How do we get there? I participated in the panel discussion entitled “Ten Years On: Climate Change, Peak Oil and the Sustainable Farm.”

On Friday I attended the Minnesota Renewable Energy Society 30th Anniversary Gala and Fundraiser at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in St. Paul.  The event Master of Ceremonies was Don Shelby from WCCO 4 News, music was provided by acoustic folk and jazzy reggae artist Michael Monroe and the food was locally grown.  The keynote speaker was Paul Hawken, environmentalist and author.  One of Paul’s books, Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial Revolution,  co-authored with Amory Lovins, was named one of the five most important books in the world by Bill Clinton. 

The purpose of the evening was to celebrate the past 30 years of accomplishments and to create progressive dialogue about the challenges we will be facing for the next thirty years.  Mr. Hawken’s message centers on the ongoing movement to partner with a diversity of organizations to work together towards a sustainable, energy-secure society.  An enlightening video of one of his speeches can be viewed online at FORAtv’s website.

I first learned of the Governor’s veto of the GAMC (Government Assistance Medical Care) program when I picked up the newspaper off the front porch this morning. I was more than disappointed. The elimination of the GAMC program, effective April 15th, will mean nearly 35,000 extremely low income adults will be without basic physical and mental health care at any given time. Most are men (60%), most struggle with mental illness and/or chemical dependence (70%), many have chronic disabilities (40%), and are homeless (25-40%). Many of the adults who qualify for GAMC are living on $203 per month (maximum $677 per month). This is nowhere near enough income to pay for basic necessities or health insurance premiums.

I had hoped the Governor would sign this bill. Controversial or even costly aspects of the bill were removed to accommodate some of the concerns of the Governor. The bill passed the House and Senate with bipartisan support garnering a 47-16 vote in the Senate and a 125-9 vote in the House, however, House Republicans say they are not interested in an override meaning a lot of votes would flip-flop should the bill be revisited.

The life of a community and the measure of our moral fiber as a people depends on the way we treat those who are most vulnerable. We can count pennies in our attempt to balance a budget, but we should never lose sight of the human community we hope to create. Failure to do so is the ultimate morning headline.

I will be holding several town meetings this coming Saturday, February 20. I am interested in hearing your concerns about the budget, policy, or any other issues you may have. If you cannot make one of the town meetings this Saturday, I will be holding several others at locations around District 25 over the next month or so. I hope to see you there.

LeSueur Town Hall Meeting
10am LeSueur City Library
118 Ferry Street, LeSueur

Belle Plaine Town Hall Meeting
Noon Belle Plaine Public Library
125 West Main Street, Belle Plaine

Arlington Town Hall Meeting
3:30pm Arlington City Hall Chambers
204 Shamrock Drive, Arlington

As always, feel free to contact me at the Capitol. I can be reached at 651 296-1279 or sen.kevin.dahle@senate.mn

As we celebrate President’s Day, we pay tribute to two of our greatest Presidents: George Washington, for bringing the country together following the Revolutionary War, and Abraham Lincoln, in large part for his efforts to keep the union together during one of the darkest periods in our history, the Civil War.
Both Presidents knew the importance of civility and the importance of cooperation. Washington warned of the dangers of a two party system while Lincoln appointed some of his sharpest critics to his own cabinet. Today, we can only dream of such cooperation and collegiality.
Recently, Carleton President Rob Oden, while speaking to faculty, staff, and community members, shared a story of such civility. His retelling of the story, a true story, is a prime example of the kind of civility we can only hope for as we work to iron out our differences and find solutions to the political, economic, and social problems that face us.
The story begins with the consolidation of the Northfield High School, a move that was typical of many Minnesota high schools in the 1950’s. When the consolidation process was concluded, it was clear that there was insufficient space in the older high school building for the new incoming students. An addition had to be built. The school superintendent, Erling Johnson, agreed with the architect that the only economical way to expand the high school was to construct a new wing on the east side of the high school which would mean the closing of College Street.
Mr. Leal Headley, who lived near College Street, was a prime mover in the Northfield Improvement Association. Mr. Headley and other members of the Association complained that closing College Street would compromise the adjacent Central Park and the ultimately, the Association sued to keep College Street open.
The meetings and judicial hearing surrounding the suit began in Northfield, moved then to District Court in Faribault, and eventually made their way to the Supreme Court. The school district won the case before the Supreme Court, and College Street was ultimately closed.
But the real point of the story is as follows. Before each hearing, in Northfield, in Faribault, and before the Supreme Court, Leal Headley called Superintendent Johnson and asked him if he might like a ride to the meeting. Mr. Johnson accepted, and for every meeting, over an issue which burned in Northfield and which might have divided entire neighborhoods and ended many friendships, Leal Headley collected Erling Johnson and off they went in Mr. Headley’s Buick to the various meetings.
This is collegiality. This is respect for opposition. And this is civility as rarely seen or heard anywhere. On this President’s Day, let us all recall the story and let us work to continue to find common ground, agree to disagree, and recognize opposing opinions. Let us work to practice uncommon civility even in the face of disagreement in a way that would make Lincoln and Washington proud. Better yet… in a way that would make Leal and Erling proud.