Minnesota Rep. Tom Anzelc and Sen. Tom Saxhaug met with local leaders Friday to provide an overview of actions taken by the Minnesota Legislature to end the state’s longest government shutdown in history as well to what the future holds for the state.
Known as the “Two Toms,” the representatives discussed how the state’s actions will impact local governments during a luncheon sponsored by the International Falls Area Chamber of Commerce.
Anzelc discussed his view of actions needed to improve the economy. He told the group that never before has the federal, state and local governments been as interconnected and dependent upon one another as they are today.
“In Washington, D.C., compromise needs to happen so compromise can happen in Minnesota, so local decision makers... can make real decisions affecting real people,” he said.
Federal lawmakers must “means test” new recipients of Medicare and Social Security, he said. The federal government needs to provide block grants to the states, so the county boards may prioritize services to meet the unique needs of the local poor, he said.
Republicans in Washington must allow tax cuts implemented by Pres. George W. Bush to encourage compromise among federal lawmakers, he said.
In Minnesota, lawmakers must take responsibility for implementing the above mentioned block grants that serve the poor and need to admit that “what was done in the special session of the past year was not enough,” he said. “We need to admit that the borrowing off future revenues from the tobacco settlement will not be enough and exacerbating the school shift whereby 40 cents on the dollar that the superintendents and school board here in International Falls are receiving from the state government is not forthcoming and therefore they need to borrow or utilize reserves to make up for the difference — we need to admit that that was not a good solution.”
“Lastly, we need a lot of luck in this country, because we are in a global, nationwide recession of catastrophic proportions,” he said, adding that, in Minnesota 100,000 residents have been unemployed for six consecutive months or more.
In addition, Anzelc said the nation needs a real timetable for bringing troops home from Afghanistan and Iraq. “We simply can’t afford those kinds of expenditures as we look forward,” he said.
Minnesota must redesign and streamline its government to make government in the 87 counties and 435 school districts, as well as townships and municipalities, more efficient, he said.
“We need to deliver government services at a cheaper price and that will require huge sacrifice and a lot of pain, but it’s coming,” he said. “We all need to be part of the solution.”
Saxhaug also noted that decisions made to end the shutdown dramatically impacted school finances and other services that Minnesotans have come to rely upon.
The shutdown could have been resolved by solving a deficit through raising revenue, cuts or borrowing money. Borrowing money is a one-time solution that should be paid back at some point, but both the representatives said there is no set time for payback or guarantee the money will be repaid.
Borrowing from the schools could impact the state’s ability to provide a trained and educated work force, Saxhaug said. Saxhaug said raising revenue was a better idea than borrowing, he said.
“Jobs are the most important thing we can have and the reason Minnesota has always had a good job climate is because we have a trained, educated work force,” Saxhaug said, referring to cuts made to K-12 schools and the state’s colleges. “Higher education is a big part of our economic development.”
Cuts to the state’s forests proposed early in the session would have hurt the state’s ability to provide the average 800,000 cords each year, he said. And cuts made to local government aid and payment in lieu of taxes also affected local governments, he added.
One question posed asked whether it would be more efficient to consolidate school districts in large rural areas like Koochiching County rather than split the resources among several smaller districts. The representatives agreed that some districts may see efficiencies by consolidating, but said local communities must propose plans to the lawmakers to do that.
Anzelc said he shares that concern, noting that Minnesota cannot sustain 435 school districts, which must fund individual bus systems, superintendents, and food plans and seeking efficiencies is needed.
Cynthia Jaksa, International Falls city councilor, discussed the impact of the state eliminating the market value homestead credit and replacing it with a new program that does not provide relief to local governments.
“Even if the city of International Falls holds its levy the same this year as last, which I don’t think we will, the commercial taxes will go up anyway because of the loss of the homestead credit,” she said. “We may not raise income taxes at the state level, but we’ll pay them in this town in property taxes.”
Koochiching County Commissioner Mike Hanson encouraged the lawmakers to ensure that federal initiatives, such as the International Joint Commission’s effort to streamline and merge its operations, do not inhibit development and industry in the area.
International Falls School Superintendent Jeff Peura asked whether the state would allow school districts discretionary levy authority, similar to other taxing entities, given that it has again delayed payments to districts to solve the state budget deficit. “I can’t give my employees IOUs,” he told the lawmakers.
Voyageurs National Park Superintendent Mike Ward encouraged the lawmakers to seek ways to market the park to visitors in an effort to improve the local economies of the gateway communities.
“We need to keep pushing and we can increase the economic benefit for all,” he said.
