Bluestem Prairie

MNGOP hating on Mayberry, RFD: anti-business property tax shifts to plague greater Minnesota

There's a steady tattoo of news in greater Minnesota newspapers these days, echoed in a Minnesota Public Radio report, Cities could raise property tax to make up for state budget cuts.

Will voters remember thse stories next fall when the Republican party and its homophobic allies beat their hackneyed drum about "rural values"?

MPR's Mark Steil reports:

According to projections by non-partisan state House legislative staff, the budget deal could lead to property tax increases of 4.6 percent statewide. Communities outside the Twin Cities would see the biggest jump, about 6 percent on average. Metro area taxes would rise about 4 percent.

Cities in south central Minnesota could see the biggest increase, about 7.3 percent. Property taxes in the Iron Range and Duluth are projected to rise 7.2 percent, while in east central and southeast Minnesota the hike will be just under 7 percent. . . .

Steil cites suburban Republican leigslators who disagree with the nonpartisan staff, but in looking at local reports around the state, Bluestem thinks the legislative staff might be on to something. And if no property tax shifts are coming, then there's belt tighten for the already slender.

From west central Minnesota, the Monte News reports in Administrators say compromise delays resolution of budget problem:

The state of Minnesota is beginning to function again following a 20-day government shutdown that was resolved last week when Gov. Mark Dayton signed into law a number of bills passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature.

The new biennial budget has been widely criticized by DFL legislators and the Independence Party of Minnesota as once again deferring rather than solving the chronic state budget deficit.

That perspective seems to be shared by city and school officials here. The American-News asked Montevideo City Manager Steve Jones and Montevideo Super­intendent of Schools Luther Heller for their reactions to the budget.
 
City of Montevideo
“The main impact on the city for 2011 is that we have to cut $326,000 from our existing 2011 budget,” wrote Jones in an e-mail. “Staff has sat down this week and has a plan in place.  . . .

What does that mean in concrete terms?

“We cut funds for items such as plow trucks, mowers, heavy equipment, police cars, park improvements, park maintenance, trees, computer equipment and building repairs and upgrades,” he wrote.

The city will face a similar revenue shortfall in 2012, according to Jones.

“For 2012 we will also have $326,000 less than anticipated, so the capital improvement fund will continue to be underfunded for future equipment, replacement and repair needs. Very little, if any part-time summer help will be hired, and except for needed maintenance projects, upgrades and major repairs could be delayed.

“Our real fear is for 2013 and beyond. Because the state chose to delay real reform, we will go through this same scenario in 18 months, and we will be weaker and less financially able to weather the storm in 2013 than if they had made all the necessary changes now.”

Snowplow. Streets.

The headline up in Detroit Lakes? DL prepares for disappearing state aid: A conservative budget. The news:

The ever-changing local government aid and market value credit are changing once again.

City Finance Officer Lou Guzek told council members to plan on only getting the amount for LGA that the city received in 2010, about $550,000, even though it is slated to receive $690,500 in 2012.

Guzek said if the city should happen to get the full amount promised by the state, he recommends the unbudgeted $140,000 be put into the debt service fund.

“I’d take the conservative approach and budget with the $550,000,” he said.

For market value credit, in 2011, cities will receive what they did in 2010, and next year “it disappears as a payment to the cities,” Guzek said.

The city budgeted for $202,000 in MVC in 2011.

For 2011, the city levied about $3.4 million in taxes. That came half from residential and half from commercial or “other” properties.

But with recent changes in market value, if the city levies for $3.4 million again next year, commercial properties will feel the squeeze much more than homeowners.

Homeowners won’t see much of an increase at all, but commercial property will see about a 12 percent hike in city taxes.

Guzek said that cities without LGA will also be without MVC, so it doesn’t affect the larger metro cities that already don’t receive LGA.

“We’re out fighting this battle by ourselves,” he said.  . . .

DL-Online's editorial board called it as they saw it in Mn tax shift is anti-business:

We know the state is in a tight financial bind, but this is just plain bad tax policy that could really hurt greater Minnesota, and especially businesses in greater Minnesota — and the jobs they provide.

Rural Minnesota lawmakers should push for a change to this stink bomb of a tax law when the Legislature meets again next year: Property taxes are already a major concern of small business owners, and this change just makes it worse.

Lawrence Schmumacher at PIM's Capitol Report has more (including news of the affects of the budgt here in Hutchinson) in Local governments look to hedge LGA uncertainty.

Driving Republicans to distraction

No wonder the legislative majority's leadership has to carrying on about how Ballot measures are key part of GOP agenda , as Briana Bierschbach reports elsewhere in PIM:

The passage of the constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage was the defining moment of the final days of Minnesota’s 2011 legislative session, and the first modern Republican-controlled Legislature is gearing up to bypass DFL Gov. Mark Dayton’s signature again next year and add a few more to the 2012 ballot.

After a gubernatorial veto last session, a move to put voter photo identification on the ballot is already afoot. And during internal caucus negotiations on the special session budget deal, a group of hard-line House Republicans exacted a promise from leadership to pass an amendment to require a legislative “super-majority” to raise taxes in exchange for their budget votes. In addition, GOP Capitol hands say there are eager talks about throwing a right-to-work amendment into the mix.

Perhaps those distractions will prompt rural Minnesotans to pay no attention to those job-killing property tax hikes.

Photo: Mayberry RFD.

Promises, promises: Ernie Leidiger exchanges votes for next year's conservative slant

How did Kurt Zellers' whip his caucus to vote for a $35.6 billion budget, despite many members' pledge to spend "not a penny" more than $34 billion?

By promising guys like Ernie Leidiger--best known outside his district as the guy who invited homophobic preacher Bradlee Dean to pray in the Minnesota House of Representatives--that a "conservative slant" will rule next year's legislative agenda.

The Chaska Herald reports in Legislators share viewpoints on 2011 marathon:

Since the end of the state shutdown, [freshman Representative Ernie] Leidiger has come under more scrutiny for telling his constituents that he would vote against the budget bills because they would increase state spending.

However, the vote tally shows Leidiger voted for the bills, with the exception of the bonding bill.

In the aftermath, Leidiger claimed in an e-mail to the newspaper that he and 15 other conservative GOP House members indeed planned to vote against the budget bills until Republican leaders promised them a conservative slant on next session's agenda.

"The conservatives stayed together and were assured conservative policies would prevail in the future," he said.

The Legislature is adjourned until Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012.

Sean Olsen at the Brick City Blog has more on Leidiger's vote in Ernie Leidiger learns to love the K-12 school shift.

Olsen also checks out that vote against the bonding bill in Ernie Leidiger votes against creating 15,000 jobs:

Leidiger was one of only 16 representatives to vote no on the bonding bill.  Most Republicans, including Chaska’s Rep. Joe Hoppe and Chanhassen’s Sen. Julianne Ortman, recognized the value of this bill and voted in favor of it.

Undoubtedly, Leidiger will cite the issuance of more debt as his rationale for opposing the bill.  But Leidiger — on the same day — voted for over $1.3 billion in debt that is really harmful to Minnesota’s economy.  Leidiger voted for a $700 million shift in K-12 education payments that puts the state IOU to its schools at $2 billion.  Leidiger also voted to issue bonds against future tobacco settlement revenues.  To raise $640 billion in revenue for this biennium, the state is going to have to spend between $800 and $900 million dollars.   These moves are debt of the worst kind — they hurt our schools and create holes in the state budget in future years without providing any of the long-term benefit of the infrastructure projects.

Photo: Ernie.

Mankato editors slam tobacco bonds sale: "loan-shark, pawn-shop type of public finance"

While the Mankato Free Press editorial board is happy about "reforms" in the state budget compromise, it's so not pleased about the sale of tobacco bonds in the agreement, calling the revenue source a "loan-shark, pawn-shop type of public finance."

It's a new addition to the loan-shark, pawn-shop type of public finance that borrows from the kids' school aid funds at an ever more burdensome formula.

Bluestem checked out the bonds in What not to wear: Previewing MNGOP's "Rad Reform Red" porcine gloss for 2012. The MFP editorial board is more blunt in Hold breath on tobacco bonds:

Taxpayers might find themselves coughing, hacking and wheezing when they take a drag of the so-called tobacco bonds lawmakers and the governor used to solve the state budget deficit.

Experts estimate the $640 million the state is borrowing from future tobacco payments will cost us from $1 billion to $1.3 billion in interest and other costs when the smoke clears. That’s for borrowing our own money. . . .

The editors note that the 5 to 6 percent interest on tobacco bond exceeds that on typical municipal bonds and that the state's credit rating might be downgraded because of the bonds, thus raising the costs of other borrowing by the state.

Moreover, since the state's tobacco settlement income is tied to rates of smoking, any pronounced dip in the rate of smoking poses the risk of the state defaulting on the bond. The paper cites a story in that ultimate bedside read Bond Buyer magazine that notes how tobacco companies payments to states are declining since tobacco use is dropping  “above and beyond” predictions.

The editorials money paragraphs:

Of course, Republicans deemed this approach better than raising taxes and Gov. Mark Dayton deemed it better than making deeper cuts in spending.

But it sure seems like a loan-shark, pawn-shop type of public finance not worthy of our state and its responsible citizens. . . .

. . .Ultimately, state leaders would do well to try to get taxpayers out of this ponzi-like scheme sooner than later. We’ll all breathe a little easier.

But over in the New Ulm Journal, there's a telling comment by Paul Torkelson in Area legislators listen to citizens’ comments on budget that suggests the addiction to costly borrowing gimmicks isn't going to go away soon.

Torkelson says of the delayed payments to the schools:

Torkelson said the state education funding delay as a way to deal with the budget deficit is not new and is more than offset by increased pupil funding over the next few years.

"It's been used many times and we always pay the money back, although it took 10 years once," Torkelson said.

What Torkelson isn't sharing is that the deal changed the formula--or that it took the state 15, rather than 10 years to refill the kids' piggy bank. The Star Tribune notes in School aid delay comes with some extra costs:

The state has long held back a portion of per-pupil school aid, a practice that originated as a kind of fiscal safety valve. Starting in 1971, the state would withhold 10 percent of funding until the next fiscal year in order to deal with fluctuations in student numbers. If a district had more students at the end of the school year than originally projected, the state had money on hand to pay the difference. If a district wound up with fewer students, the state held on to whatever it no longer owed the district.

In 1983, as the government grappled with red ink, it used a school funding shift as a budget-balancing tool, something it has done intermittently in the years since. That year, it held back 15 percent of school funding, a shift that took 15 years to repay in full.

In 2003 and 2004, with the state again confronting budget deficits, it shifted 17 percent and 20 percent of school aid payments, respectively, into the next year.

In the past two years, the shift has mushroomed. Twenty-seven percent of school funding was held back in the 2010 budget year, and 30 percent in 2011 as the state dealt with a multi-billion-dollar budget gap.

Now, under the new budget that ended the 20-day state government shutdown, 40 percent of the appropriated funds will be withheld until next year.

Nor everyone is as cheery as Torkelson about the per-ppupil increase covering the added costs of borrowing. The Hutchinson Leader reports in Budget deal puts burden on schools that school officials here are a bit more pessimistic:

The deal includes a $780 million school aid payment shift that Business and Finance Director Donna Luhring said “makes cash flow for us a lot more difficult.”

“My concern is that they haven’t taken any action to solve the underlying financial problem,” she added.

The education finance bill will also increase state funding by $50 per pupil in 2012 and $100 per pupil in 2013. Luhring said that increase probably won’t be enough to cover the interest on the money the district could potentially have to borrow, although “any money is appreciated to help offset the cost.”

Will the tobacco bond borrowing prove to be any wiser? And all this just to protect lower tax rates for a handful of wealthy Minnesotans? What a deal.

Cartoon: The GOP Pig by Ken Avidor. Koch can do her best with the lipstick and Mike Brodkorb adjust that wig, but we can still see the pig (or boor as it were). Sketched by request.

 

LGA freeze forces rural mayors to eye cuts, tax hikes, moonlighting in ZZ Top cover bands

With support from local newspaper editorials and local chambers of commerce, small town mayors fought to keep local government aid for cities of all sizes in the state's budget. The united efforts helped keep LGA alive.

And since the final deal freezes LGA at 2010 levels, local governments have to decide whether to cut services or raise revenue, or a combination of both.

In a short column in the Globe, Worthington Mayor Alan Oberloh  writes:

Any high school class from Worthington, Willmar or Wadena would have produced a far better budget for Minnesota property taxpayers and their communities.

The governor and Legislature took a bad state budget situation and made it worse. Their decisions not only prolong the state budget challenges because of their borrowing; they also once again passed the buck down to local officials to make the hard decisions on spending cuts and tax increases.

This budget will result in Greater Minnesota families and businesses once again being hit with property tax increases and significant cuts to critical community services like police, fire, snowplowing and economic development.

Given Oberloh's truly admirable beard, perhaps moonlighting in a ZZ Top cover band for extra cash would be another option for raising revenue.

Across the state, on the northern edge of Drazistan, the Red Wing Republican Eagle reports in Local leaders have mixed feelings about state budget that mix ranges from dismay from local officials to severe pain in the part of Republican legislators who disclocated their shoulders while patting themselves on their backs in praise of the final deal.

The reality for the City of Red Wing? Tough choices:

In the days since the budget was approved, concerns have surfaced from those seeing cuts in state funding.

For example, the new budget allots $619,586 in Local Government Aid to Red Wing for 2011, the same amount it received in 2010. But the city was slated to get more than $1.7 million.

Red Wing city officials have said if LGA funding was low again this year, it could mean significant cuts to city services and could drive up local property taxes. That could be the case throughout the state, especially in rural areas.

And in Albert Lea, there's a similiar story in the Tribune, LGA freeze puts city on heels:

The state government may be up and running again, but now the city of Austin must cope with the Local Government Aid (LGA) freeze put in place when the shutdown ended.

When Minnesota legislators voted to end the 20-day shutdown, they also voted to freeze LGA at 2010 levels, meaning Austin will miss out on more than $687,000 of its certified LGA amount for 2011, according to city Finance Director Tom Dankert.

Half of the city’s $7.1 million LGA check is scheduled to be sent to the city by July 27; the other half of the funds will be sent in December. The 2012 LGA payment will also be the 2010 amount, which is $7.1 million.

The LGA freeze coupled with the elimination of market value credit will create a loss of more than $1.3 million for Austin over the next two years.

“1.3 million dollars — that won’t be easy for the city of Austin to deal with,” Dankert said. “We are in the realms where we’ve never been before.”

Mirroring the decision Minnesota legislators had to make to balance the state budget, Austin City Council members will have to decide whether to cut services or raise revenue, or a combination of both.

It will be interesting to watch how cities throughout the state deal with the choices facing them. I know that Hutchinson already made some tough calls even before this latest development.

Photo: Worthington Mayor Alan Oberloh, via the Globe.

Draz: EBT reform will save hundreds of millions!

Yesterday, Bluestem noted the Bigglesworthian claim Senator Hoffman made about reforms in Tales of Hoffman: Kvetchin' Gretchen saved billions and billions and billions by holding out.

In the op-ed section of today's Winona Daily News, Steve Drazkowski ups the Vergas yarn teller with this one:

There's also welfare reform. Welfare abuse in this state has alarmed a number of lawmakers for years.

Take our Electronic Benefits Transfer cards, which are supposed to provide food for needy Minnesotans.

We've found during the years that cards are shared, sold, or used for alcohol and tobacco products. New laws will require a recipient's name to be placed on the card, and prohibit alcohol and tobacco from being purchased with taxpayers' money. If the recipient abuses the privilege, he or she will lose it for good.

Hundreds of millions of dollars will be saved with these reforms. We will start future bienniums on a much lower spending curve than we would have without this budget.

The numbers behind Drazkowski's tangled yarn are much more humble. In At a glance: Health and Human Services budget, Minnesota Public Radio's Madeleine Baran reported:

Republican lawmakers introduced several bills earlier this year to restrict the use of welfare cards. They argued that some welfare recipients use the Electronic Benefit Transfer cards, which look like debit cards, to buy alcohol, tobacco, and lottery tickets - although a detailed look at a month's worth of EBT card transactions found no evidence of widespread fraud.

Hundreds of millions? There's fraud here alright, and it's name is rhymes with "razz."

That's some evil logic there, Steve. And of course the Draz couldn't resist touting that "General Fund" budget figure in his column. MnPublius's Jeff Rosenberg deftly points out the problem in MNGOP already trying to whitewash “beg, borrow, and steal”:

The ink hasn’t even dried, and they’re already trying to whitewash their irresponsible bill, pretending that putting our budget on a credit card is somehow a victory for Minnesotans. For example, they’re already lying about the size of the budget:

Republicans say they stuck to their pledge to spend only $34 billion over the next two years. The Dayton Administration says the tally is $35.7 billion. The difference depends on how you account for the shifts and borrowing.

More precisely, it depends on whether you account for shifts and borrowing. Apparently, the GOP is just going to pretend that their irresponsible borrowing never needs to be paid back. That’s a lie, and it is shockingly irresponsible.

And speaking of credit cards: who gets a cut from those EBT cards? Or are the banks waiving their fees for those receiving public assistance?

Bluestem remix: Chip Cravaack driving America over a cliff. . .now in New Hampshire

The SEIU MN State Council's Executive Director director sent Bluestem a press release and a URL of a Youtube for an ad the national union and Americans United for Change are running in Minnesota's Eighth Congressional District.

Looking at the ad, something seemed a little off. Congressman Cravaack is moving his family to New Hampshire, as Bluestem noted on Saturday in Teabagger turns carpetbagger: left off Patriot Program, Cravaack moves family to NH. The ad uses stock footage of a race down a coastal road in what looks to be California (and the union and AUC are running similar ads in targeted districts across the country).

Why not a cliff in New Hampshire?

Bluestem remixed the sound with more appropriate footage and some subtitles to provide a multi-level message:

Here's the original, with the press release below the fold:

K12 education funding to schools increased $50 per student (but dollars related to debt relief)

Tuesday afternoon, Bluestem posted guest commentary by Javier Morillo-Alicea, A modest proposal to progressives for renaming the "school shift."  Morillo-Alicea argued that by forcing districts to borrow money since state aid would be delayed, the "school funding shifts" amount to a gift to the banking industry, since those loans come with interest.

Thus, less of districts' dollars go toward educating kids and more to servicing interest on loans.

About the $50 per pupil increase

A friend was quick to post a comment that the bill would provide $50 per student to help pay for the cost of the loans. And a source in the governor's office explains that the $50 per pupil increase will more than cover the cost of servicing loans forced on districts who must borrow money from the private sector.

Perhaps so, but some of that money is still being spent on debt and not on educating kids.

Textbooks? Teachers? Heavens forbid that Minnesota could make taxes more equitable--instead, the bill borrows from education funding, then gives schools a pittance to help out with the loans they'll need because they didn't get the money when they needed to spend it. Meanwhile, the lenders make money off this "solution."

In With budget deal schools will feel the pain -- but it could have been worse, Minnpost's education columnist Beth Hawkins wrote on July 18:

The pain: In addition to borrowing at the state level, the spine of the deal on the table would allow the state to hold back  40 percent of schools’ already bare-bones budgets until next year. This will force virtually every school system in the state to borrow in addition to cutting back.

Dayton did negotiate a $50-per-pupil hike in general education funds to offset the cost of servicing the debt, but at first glance school administrators weren’t mollified.

And, offset notwithstanding, the shift will be disastrous for many charter schools, which will not be able to borrow at rock-bottom government rates, by issuing bonds. Without affordable credit, good, gap-closing programs may simply up and close.

Hawkins' information is found in other reports (see here and here for examples) She has yet to post an update on the final K12 deal at Minnpost.

Local school officials discuss borrowing

Not that the press is being easy on the details of education funding in the new budget. Take Jodie Tweed's article at the Brainard Dispatch, School funding up slightly, which gets into the ugly details of borrowing:

The basic formula allowance was increased by $50 per pupil in Fiscal Year 2012 and FY2013, said Steve Lund, director of business services for Brainerd schools. Lawmakers are calling this a 1 percent increase but Lund said it falls slightly short of 1 percent. The basic formula is currently $5,124 per pupil and for Brainerd Schools, an increase of about $365,000 per year. 

“Our basic formula aid is only one component of our total funding, so what is being commonly referred to as a 1 percent increase, really only represents a one-half percent increase on our total budget of approximately $70 million,” Lund explained.

But there's this:

But school districts like Brainerd are then left to pick up the bill and borrow funds themselves to cover their costs. Lund said the district receives about $50 million in state aid and a further delay of 10 percent will mean another $5 million that won’t be reimbursed until the following year. It will cost the district about $50,000 to issue the additional bond and pay interest. 

“So, they are going to provide us with about $365,000 of added funding, while they withhold another $5 million of our total funding, which equates to less cash flow and about $50,000 more in expense,” said Lund. “This will push our accounts receivable balance with the state up to a level of approximately $20 million at the end of the fiscal year.”

Tweed doesn't directly mention that the $50 bump was connected to loan relief. The West Central Tribune's Linda Vanderwerf reports in Budget hit and miss with school officials:

Wednesday was a good news/bad news sort of day for public education in Minnesota.

There’s disappointment in the state’s decision to delay paying state aid to the public schools that are dependent on it. But school officials are pleased, maybe even relieved, to have a signed state budget agreement following this week’s special session of the Legislature. . . .

. . .In recent history, the state has paid school districts a percentage of their state aid in one fiscal year and shifted the remaining payments into the following fiscal year.

The shift has varied from a 90-10 split all the way to the 70-30 split in the past fiscal year. In the new legislation, the split will be 60-40.

That means that in the current fiscal year, schools will receive 30 percent of last year’s aid payments and 60 percent of this year’s payments. That is likely to have a significant impact on cash flow, as schools depend on the state for about three-quarters of their annual revenue.

Schools will also pay fees and interest to borrow money to get through the year. To help offset that cost, the Legislature increased the general education aid by $50 this year and another $50 next year.

That will increase the base aid from $5,124 per pupil to $5,174 for this school year and to $5,224 for the following year.

School officials aren't  exactly happy:

Willmar Superintendent Jerry Kjergaard didn’t mince words in his assessment of the new, larger shift.

“They used education to balance the budget again,” he said. “I would hope there are no legislators out there who are bragging about the K-12 bill.”

Paul Carlson, superintendent at New London-Spicer Schools, said he was disappointed that the state was using the “same old tactics” that have been used in the past. “It’s time our leaders talk about making investments in education.”

The shifts have been used to varying degrees for eight years in a row, Carlson said, and the practice serves to delay dealing with state financial problems.

Carlson said he is pleased to see the increases in state aid, after years of no increases at all.

Read the entire article.

Vandwerf also noted that proposed changes in integration funding "would have affected a number of districts in west central Minnesota." This is curious since the funding is spun by the GOP as an urban/rural, "us" v "them" sort of thing (as if those in the metro are less real than people here out on the prairies).

Politicians speak

The Eden Prairie News reports Republican Representative Jennifer Loon's mention of the purpose for the money:

Loon noted that she was not in favor of doing the school shift but it ended up being “one of the only pathways to end the government shutdown.”

She said that there is additional money in the budget ($50 per child per year) to cover the additional costs of the delayed funding.

Other politicians aren't so forthright. In a podcast interview with Scott Hennen, Gretchen Hoffman mentions the $50 bump, but not its cost. (Bluestem will have more on this remarkable interview later).

The Pioneer Press's Bill Salisbury doesn't note the general $50 increase, but does include news of some loan relief for charter schools:

Charter schools, which will be hit hardest by the state aid shift being used to balance the budget, will get some relief from the holdback. The education bill included $25 per pupil for charters to help offset their borrowing costs. They also will have access to a $10 million state fund that allows school districts in statutory operating debt to borrow money at low rates.

 So here Minnesota is: raiding our education coffers, rather than creating a more equitable tax structure, and forcing school districts to borrow (at interest). And to pay that interest off? A bump in per-student funding across the board, with a little extra for the hard-pressed charter schools.

Not a penny more indeed--except for when we raid the kids' piggy banks.  There's money to help pay for that. Wouldn't it be better to pick options that don't force schools to borrow at all?

A "corporate bandit budget"

The folks at the SEIU MN State Council are not pleased and have called for banks to sacrifice as well by offering interest-free loans to the schools. Taxpayers bailed out the banking industry, the union's logic goes, so perhaps a community-minded contribution is in order:

These banks are a member of our community, and they rely on a well-educated Minnesota workforce. We are calling on banks like Wells Fargo and US Bank to lead by stepping forward and offering to waive interest and fees on borrowing forced on our schools by these GOP budget gimmicks. To do otherwise would be shameful. We bailed out the banks – now it’s time they recognize their role in helping the communities they serve.”

TakeAction Minnesota and Minnesotans for a Fair Economy will be staging a Capitol Rally Against Corporate Bandit Budget today at 10:30 a.m. It's likely this proposal will be aired.

Javier Morillo-Alicea: A modest proposal to progressives for renaming the "school shift"

Guest commentary

by Javier Morillo-Alicea

Let us pledge to stop calling the funding mechanism for the state budget a "school shift." That sounds too innocuous, as does "accounting gimmick," which makes it sound as if these are fake numbers people are playing with that have no real consequences.

When the state "shifts" payments that are promised to schools, it forces the school districts to borrow money to make up for the money it should have received. Who do they borrow from? Why, from the Big Banks that we bailed out with our tax dollars at little or no interest!

And do these Banks, out of respect for those taxpayer-funded bailouts, make these loans to school districts interest-free? Quit your dreaming. They charge interest rates that the schools will have to make payments on. And how will they do that? You guessed it -- through property tax levies, or, if voters reject those, they'll see reduced school services or ever-expanding class sizes. This is not an accounting gimmick – it is stealing from our children.

And those charter schools conservatives love so much? The robbery is even greater, since they must borrow at higher rates.

So, think about it -- we taxpayers pay once to bail the banks out and then again through property tax increases to pay the very banks that are now loaning school districts money.

And the CEO of that bank? Well, in Minnesota the GOP did everything they could to protect him so he pays not a penny more in income tax. Corporate tax loopholes? Also not closed. That's what the final agreement enshrines. An already regressive tax structure in the state will become more so.

Minnesota Republicans, many of whom swore all session by the slogan, “Not a Penny More!” have adopted a new motto: “Hey, kid, can I borrow a penny?”

So, please, let's not call this "accounting gimmick" a "school shift."

It's a New Bank Bailout.

A frequent guest of TPT's Almanac and KSTP's At Issue, Javier Morillo-Alicea serves as president of SEIU Local 26, which represents private-sector workers in the property service industry.

The Emo Senator: Mike Parry declares "I have no obligation to this leadership"

Governor Dayton and titular Senate Majority Amy Koch agree that some committees will need "adult supervision," but Emo Senator Mike Parry told the Mankato Free Press that he has "no obiligation to [Koch's] leadership."

In a interview on Almanac last night, Governor Dayton said that some committees might need "adult supervision" to get their work done. Late last night, the Star Tribune included the remark in its wrap-up coverage of the day, but didn't note that later in the show, titular Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch had agreed with Dayton's assessment:

Our committees are working, and as the governor said, perhaps some of them need a little more adult supervision-- is that what he used?-- and that's very likely to finish our work.

Koch's answer came in response to a question that specifically referenced the Emo Senator from Waseca.

Parry is having none of it, and running buddy Al Dekruif (R-Elysian) is getting his back. In Warning: Budget deal no shoo-in, Mankato Free Press political reporter Mark Fischenich reports:

One of the distinctions [Rep. Tony] Cornish sees between the House and the Senate is that Zellers got a commitment in advance from rank-and-file House Republicans to back him up if he reached agreement with the governor.

“I think the difference is we gave our leadership the OK and the trust to cut the deal,” Cornish said. “I don’t think in the Senate they have that trust level.”

DeKruif and Parry were asked if they felt any obligation, after electing Koch as their majority leader, to support the deal she negotiated even if they don’t agree with it.

“I don’t think there’s been any agreement reached, first of all,” DeKruif said. “Second, when the governor said he’s agreed to an offer that we made (in late June). ... Well, part of that offer had some policy attached.”

Parry said his only responsibility is to vote in the way that he feels best represents the interests of his constituents.

“I have no obligation to this leadership,” he said.

Parry flounced out of a budget committee meeting yesterday afternoon, but flashes of his pique had appeared on the horizon a day earlier in a district newspaper.

On Thursday, following Republican Senate Majority Caucus conference calls, Parry told the Owatonna People's Press that he wasn't pleased about the deal. In Governor, Republicans reach common ground, Ashley Peterson reports:

Sen. Mike Parry, R-Waseca, said he spent Thursday afternoon in conference calls with other Republican leaders to discuss the governor’s supposed agreement and added that is he not happy with Dayton’s response.

“The governor says he agrees with our June 30 proposal. However, for him to accept that, he has put in three different options or things he needs in order to accept our offer. He hasn’t accepted our offer — he’s just saying if we agree to three items he wants in there, then he will consider,” Parry said. . . .

Yesterday, that pique opened in a deluge that threatens the agreement to end the shutdown, without the adult supervision Parry rejects.

Today's Mankato Free Press article suggests the reason that Parry is able to act out like a temperamental Southern Minnesota belle: because he can.  Titular Senate Majority Leader Koch's apparent inability to sell the compromise to her caucus creates enormous leverage for Parry.  Fischenich writes:

Senate Republican leaders, who hold a 37-29 majority, can’t afford many defectors if they want to get the budget passed. If no Democrats support the deal, something Parry said the Senate GOP has been told is likely, the defection of four Republicans would block passage.

After talking to Senate colleagues on Friday, DeKruif wouldn’t put odds on getting a budget passed and putting and end to the shutdown — something Dayton, Zellers and Koch predicted would happen Monday or Tuesday.

“I’m not sure,” DeKruif said. “I’d just suggest: Stay tuned.”

Who brought Flouncett O-Parry to the cotillion?: Bluestem's assessment 

Mike Parry, belle of the ball, is a creature spawned by Koch's ceding power to Senate Majority Leader Mike Brodkorb, as well as by the passionate embraces extended by some of the press corps. Brodkorb has nurtured Parry's inner child, and the legislative process is not better for the Emo Senator's public self-actualization.

Despite a history of disruptive behavior going back to his days on the Waseca City Council, Parry was plucked by Brodkorb to be a committee head, then given a weekly radio show that raised his profile among the capital press corps. Now Parry defies the titular leader.

The situation reminds Bluestem of the relationship that evolved between Senate Minority Leader Dick Day and then Senator Michele Bachmann. Although given a leadership role in 2004 (Assistant Minority Leader in charge of policy), Bachmann pushed her own agenda in order to hate the gay, thereby raising her own profile  while paving a career path to the national spotlight. Day dumped Bachmann from the leadership post around the time of the 2005 shutdown. Parry now uses the limelight in a similar way, with rumors of a congressional bid against Walz in the First. Perhaps he wants to mow the lawn on Summit Avenue.

Seen in this light, the Republican majority that swept Koch to power is both her blessing and her curse. For while on paper Koch has the ability to set the agenda that Day never enjoyed, unlike Day, she must contend with not one Bachmann, but multiple manifestations of that political personality, none of whom is as attractive or charismatic (in either secular or sacred connotations) as the Gentlewoman from Minnesota's Sixth. And while Day is said to have given Brodkorb his first job in the Senate, in her own inexperience, Koch gave Brodkorb the Senate.

That Mike Parry replaced Day in Senate District 26? Ripples of  "Après moi, le déluge."

Image: The Emo Senator as a cross-dressing artist--Flouncett O'Parra, the belle of Southern Minnesota. Via Tild's Emo Senator Mike Parry, AKA Flouncett O’Parra.

Related posts:Was Senator Parry's single term on Waseca City Council predictive of today's budget flouncing?

Emo Senator flounces out of budget meeting; will Parry's mood swings derail special session?

When a newspaper loves a Republican, he can do no wrong (and the FDN can't factcheck Parry)

Emo senator Mike Parry pats self on back for compassion, reveals another income source

MNGOP's class warfare for dummies: Waseca voter tells Mike Parry he's wrong about Dayton

Emo tweeting senator Mike Parry can see Governor's mansion lawn from Waseca

The Emo Senator cont'd: rocking chairs, resignations, and a retreat to retweets

Thumbs down, Emo senator: "Parry commentary wasn’t helpful"; turn off phone, go count trees

Emo senator, part 3: Mike Parry collecting paycheck and per diem during shutdown

The Emo Senator, part 2: Mike Parry cries crocodile tears over laid-off state workers

The Emo Senator: Mike Parry calls for Governor Dayton's resignation, cites feelings, trust fund

Suddenly socialist Mike Parry demands pay according to his needs

 

No Beer, No Work: a song for the end of the shutdown

Bluestem knows some funny people who can sing. It may not be the tune many of my other friends are singing this morning, since they believe branding one faction as the party of millionaires is some kind of victory. I suppose it is.

Read Bluestem's take at Last call on shutdown: Minnesota's looming beer riots send state's leaders back to bargaining table

 

The producer sent out this press release:

No Beer No Work: The Song that Ended the MN Shutdown

VIDEO: Musical spoof responds to the Minnesota government shutdown.

MINNEAPOLIS, MN -- When a chorus of singing beer drinkers threatened to stop working, a shuttered Minnesota State Capitol staggered to its knees. Within eight hours, Governor Mark Dayton, Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch, and House Speaker Kurt Zellers agreed to a framework for opening the doors of government again.

The Minnesota Beer Drinkers Chorus must remain thirsty for tax equality, though their demands for beer access will be met under the terms of the agreement.

Forbes reported "It must have been the threat of Minnesota’s bars quickly running out of beer and being unable to buy new supplies without their government issued purchase cards that did the trick."

Now, the true story can be told about the video that ended the shutdown. Revising a classic Prohibition song, thirsty beer drinkers sing their demands that the legislature return and agree on a state budget.

“No beer?” video producer Nick Espinosa said. “No work! The looming beer shutdown heightened my sense of how unjust our economy is, where Minnesota families, workers, and beer drinkers aren’t served, but the wealthy are taxed at a lesser rate than middle class Minnesotans.”

The young Minneapolis activist brought together talented and angry beer drinkers to film “No Beer, No Work,” based on Prohibition-era union song.

When Minnesota’s leaders got a taste of what was coming, they hastily arranged to meet and hammer out a framework for opening the state again.

Tildified letter from Madison Lake: "GOP logo should be a bullhead"

A short July 8 letter to the editor in the Mankato Free Press moved the Divine Tild to PhotoShop a new logo (okay, so Bluestem politely asked her for this) as an illustration.

Roy McCabe of Madison Lake wrote:

I see by your recent article asking the local politicians questions regarding the budget that Republicans haven’t changed their stance one bit. That is, stick it to the middle class and protect the rich.

I think they should change their logo from an elephant to a bullhead.

We need a recall election.

He works hard for the money: Senator Scott Newman's really bad day press conference video

My state senator, Scott Newman, who continues to draw his own paycheck, was one of three Republican legislators to hold a press conference yesterday about their case to end court-sanctioned funding. Newman and his running buddies await the state supreme court's decision on their arguments.

It's a good thing that Minnpost's Eric Black took a close look at those arguments on Monday in The Minnesota Supreme Court could rule on key constitutional question raised by shutdown spending, because a frustrated, unemployed Chris Lapakko stole the highlights when he asked them why they were still getting paid when they hadn't gotten their work done.

That confrontation was the story, rather than the legal debate.

Newman isn't being asked that question just on the steps of the state capital. It's being raised in his district as well. In What are they sacrificing? Politicians still get paid, a letter to the editor of the McLeod County Chronicle, Marion Lhotka  of Lester Prairie asks:

Who feels the pain?

In Sunday's Star Tribune, it seems that McLeod County's elected officials - namely state Sen. Scott Newman, R-Hutchinson, state Rep. Glenn Gruenhagen, R-Glencoe and state Rep. Ron Shimanski, R-Silver Lake - are surviving the great government shutdown by collecting their pay.

What political sacrifices are they making?

Yet they justify damaging schools, nursing homes, 22,000 state workers, health and human services, denying low-income Minnesotans affordable health care and transit services.

The 2012 elections are just 16 months away.

Photo: Senator Scott Newman

Tales of Hoffman: LTE war rages in local editorial pages; Kvetchin' Gretchen missing in action

Though Gretchen Hoffman's arias of complaint have vanished from both twitter and the political playlist, the battle of the bands still rages in the editorial pages of the Fergus Falls Daily Journal. Let's take a look at what the elves are singing.

Last Thursday, the paper published a letter to the editor from Hoffman supporter Maxine Erickson, Hoffman has always defended the truth. Erickson begins:

In response to the article regarding my friend Sen. Gretchen Hoffman — I have never heard her say anything mean-spirited, but she has defended the truth.

One slip of not being in order regarding a comment made — that wasn’t good, but doesn’t make her a bad person. We’ve all learned through a mistake not made intentionally yet is still out of order.

Here's a Youtube of Gretchen Hoffman on "We The People" on The Flag defending the tweet, near the end of May:

Hoffman doesn't sound like she made the tweet unintentionally. And she did apologize. Bluestem had hope to listen to her post-apology "clarification," but podcasts from her last two interviews on the "We The People" show on The Flag  in Dilworth, MN (June 23 and July 7) have not been posted.

Indeed, it's hard to find any coverage of Hoffman anywhere, with the exception of the story about how she's frustrated and in the dark. Bluestem doesn't like to think about that picture.

Back to the Erickson LTE. Hoffman's BFF know what liberals are up to! She continues:

I hope our governor will care about the people of Minnesota, and not hold up Minnesota because he wants to tax and spend more. For what? When the card is maxed out there is no more. We don’t need any more taxation in Minnesota.

We know more taxes are part of the plan to drive down along with those who want to drive America down. . . .

Yes, gentle readers, the denizens of Planet Hoffman believe Mark Dayton is part of a plot to destroy America! Don't we have a team of crack wooden puppets somewhere to protect us from this?

Erickson isn't the only one discerning forces of evil looming in the mind of Governor Mark Dayton. In Don’t let taxes turn Minnesota into Detroit:

...Maybe we need to ask Governor Dayton and his union supporters why Lockheed Martin, Northwest Delta, Thomason Reuters, Hutchinson Technology and Heresy’s are laying off people or leaving the state.

Bluestem had aleady answered the question about HTI before Dayton and Republican legislators showed up to talk to the company president about why the company made its decision. But the letter writer is happy that Hoffman is standing between him and Detroit (no, not Detroit Lakes):

We elected Mark Murdock and Gretchen Hoffman to the House and Senate by a large margin. This means we knew exactly where they stood and how they were going to vote when we voted them into office. I listened to both Gretchen and Mark at meeting after meeting. They are doing exactly what they said they would do: cutting spending, no new taxes. Making Minnesota live within its means like the rest of us have to do.

Curiously, Hoffman's caucus insists that they're not cutting spending, but increasing it by six percent, as noted in the post Debunk early and often: Albert Lea Republican shoots down bogus MNGOP budget numbers, so Bluestem isn't sure who the letter writer should believe.

Yet another reader sees Dayton involved in a huge conspiracy to destroy Our Way of Life in Liberal elites do not speak for the masses:

Both President Obama and Gov. Dayton want to raise taxes in order to grow government. Both want to shove an authoritarian, Orwellian nanny state down our throats.

Obama is an obvious egotist who believes in the economic theories of Karl Marx. Most of his associates are violent Communist radicals from the 60s and 70s. I suppose we could cut Dayton some slack and assume that he is merely an incompetent spoiled rich boy who is in over his head. . . .

. . .The reason Communism failed in Russia is the same reason it can’t work here. A few highly intelligent fools can’t equal the brain power and decision making ability of an entire population of free individuals.

Our Liberal Elites, as represented by Obama, Dayton and liberals in general, ignore the lessons of history because of their egotism and lust for power.

And here Al DeKruif would have people in Northfield  believe that The Pogemiller Prophecy is what the problem is.

The pro-Dayton letters simply aren't a fanciful. Read the reasonable and moderated rhetoric  from Fergus Falls liberal elites here.

Photo: Gretchen Hoffman (above); A Tild classic (below)

 

Greater Minnesota editors on shutdown: from critters to compromise

Looking around at Greater Minnesota editorials online this steamy July evening, Bluestem is reading calls for compromise.

If the editors are being Minnesota Nice.  Those who are following in other traditions in a state that brought both the administration of Jesse Ventura and the 1934 truckers' strikes aren't being quite so reticent. And  they're evoking a bit of a menagerie.

Some stick with near relatives. In Next election, bring in the monkeys, Henderson Independent editor James Brenno writes:

. . .Both sides are to blame for this mess, but what confounds me the most about the shutdown, regardless if it goes on for just a few days or weeks, is that for some reason Republican legislators were able to live with seeing thousands of people lose their jobs and millions lost in private sector revenue than support a tax increase on the very rich - couples making over $1 million.

At times, I think some our elected politicians believe the state government is its own special entity removed from society. But believe it or not, there are real people with real families who pay real taxes that work for the government.  . . .

The Winona Daily News call on a more cold blooded image. In Our view: GOP remains the party of no, Darrell Ehrlick writes on behalf of the editorial board:

When GOP legislators cry loudly about not being called back into session, pinning the blame on Gov. Mark Dayton, those tears are crocodile.

On Wednesday, Dayton proposed several options to close the $1.2 billion revenue gap, turn on the lights of state government, and give lawmakers a week to pass legislation reflecting the compromise.

The Republican leadership turned down a combination of five different solutions and offered absolutely nothing in return.

Check that.

The leadership offered something - the same old, tired excuse, which fits nicely on campaign literature but leaves lights dark in government. . . .

Read the entire, pithy opinion at the WDN.

Way over in the opposite corner of the state, the Fergus Falls Daily Journal reported last week that state senator Gretchen Hoffman [is] frustrated by lack of “lights-on” bill. Bluestem finds the notion of a frustrated Gretchen Hoffman sitting around with the lights off to be a very unsettling image indeed. That being the case, the motive behind the editorial board saying that the GOP [will] have to allow tax increase to end shutdown is in no way mysterious. We can't blame them.

Down in Marshall, the editors of the Independent also agree that a tax increase has value in Vulnerable residents need more protection than wealthy:

This might not go over well in a Republican-heavy area, but if Gov. Mark Dayton is right and his budget plan would do as much as possible to protect state services and prevent cuts to social programs, we're behind it - not because of his party affiliation, but because it's what's best for the people who rely on those services. If it turns out that the newly-formed independent commission comes up with a better plan to protect those people, we're all for that, too. . . .

Up in St. Cloud, the editors of the Times say in  Politicians' top priority isn't people:

. . . At this point, if you’re a legislator and you are not talking about constructive solutions and compromise, you also are not caring that:

» About 20,000 state workers marked their first week of unemployment because of you.

» The state’s coffers, which you ultimately control, are going south faster than Matt Capps’ pitching.

» Your political games are putting increasing stress on everything from inspections of health care facilities to helping vulnerable residents.

Collectively, even though it’s only been one week, Tom Stinson — himself laid off as the state’s economist — says the shutdown is dragging down all of Minnesota’s economy. . . .

Another Central Minnesota voice, Tim Douglass at the Pope County Tribune, writes about the narrow margins in the last election in There really was no mandate for either party:

Does that give either party a mandate from the voters? I don't think so. It simply reveals that compromise would be important if re-election is important. And even if re-election isn't an issue, compromise would be appropriate because each party should realize that they are representing just half, at best, of those who voted in the last election.

Don Heinzman at the ECM chain implores in Dear Legislators, Come on. Compromise:

Forget giving in to your base and do what’s best for Minnesotans.

You were not elected to represent just your base of political support.

As a legislator you represent all the people in your district, not just Republicans and not just Democrats.Your vote also represents all of the people of Minnesota.

Allowing a shutdown to continue just to appease your base in the next election is disgraceful.

It’s becoming apparent that Minnesotans are frustrated because the ones they elected to make a difference are betraying that confidence.

The governor is agreeing to make significant budget cuts in health and human services for the most vulnerable Minnesotans who depend on government programs. He wants to tax the wealthiest Minnesotans who can afford them to prevent further cuts in the Human Services budget. Most Minnesotans agree with that.

And so it goes. There are some voices that agree with Senate Majority Leader Brodkorb, The Not-Brodkorb Senator Koch and House Speaker Zellers about no compromise, but it's more like the voices of slough-pumps' lonely calling in the swamps. A bittern's narrative.

More often, Minnesota's small town editors are sounding like Joel Alstad, the sports editor of the Cottonwood County Citizen, who writes in the Lost art of compromise:

.  . .In fact, both sides are to blame. Both sides have opted to stand up for their own political ideology rather than doing what is best for the state of Minnesota. One would think, by witnessing today's political environment, that the word "compromise" was synonymous with "weakness." In fact, compromise is a necessity in effective government.

Former Rhode Island Governor Donald Carcieri, a Republican, had a history of conflict with the Democratically-controled Assembly of his state yet won election in 2002 and again in 2006, largely due to his ability to compromise with the Assembly. He is noted for saying, "Healthy disagreement, debate, leading to compromise, has always been the American way."

And noted businessman Andrew Carnegie once said, "I shall argue that strong men, conversely, know when to compromise and that all principles can be compromised to serve a greater principle."

To serve a greater principle - the state of Minnesota and its people - should stand ahead of any rigid political principle on either side of the aisle.

A recent Star Tribune poll showed that 67% of Minnesotans agreed with Gov. Dayton's plan to both cut spending and increase revenue. On Thursday, just prior to the state shutdown, Gov. Dayton lowered his demands of increasing the income tax on the top 2% of wage earners in Minnesota to just those making $1 million or more annually.

Gov. Dayton's proposed budget and that of the Republican-controlled legislature are still over $3 billion apart, but at least Gov. Dayton has shown a willingness to meet the Legislature in the middle. The Legislature has shown no such movement as of yet.

For compromise to work, there must be give and take on both sides. Clearly a "my way or the highway" approach has not worked, nor will it. And the side that refuses to meet somewhere in the middle will likely suffer at the ballot box in the next election.

Let's hope, for the good of the state, that the middle ground is found sooner, rather than later. For the state to move forward, compromise and common sense need to come before political principles.

Note: For a daily link farm of news and views from Greater Minnesota, check out Al Juhnke's Middle Minnesota.

Thumbs down, Emo senator: "Parry commentary wasn’t helpful"; turn off phone, go count trees

Last weekend, the Mankato Free Press was the first to publish Mike Parry's crack about Dayton's need to resign because of the shutdown, as Bluestem posted in The Emo Senator: Mike Parry calls for Governor Dayton's resignation, cites feelings, trust fund.

Today, the paper calls him out in Parry commentary wasn’t helpful:

Thumbs down: To Sen. Mike Parry, R-Waseca, for his bomb-throwing commentary saying Gov. Mark Dayton should resign because he intentionally wants to hurt state workers and doesn’t care about them.

Not only are the comments detrimental to creating an atmosphere where Republicans and Democrats can work together in respect, they shed an unpleasant light on the Waseca area as people wonder if Mr. Parry is representing the sentiment of average Wasecans.

We know that’s not the case, and we wonder if Parry’s incendiary comments will come back to haunt him and his constituents if he ever has to work together with Dayton to achieve something for Waseca and his district.

As far as who wants to “hurt state workers” we suspect Parry would find it hard to defend the proposal he supports that cuts 15 percent of the state work force versus Dayton’s proposed cut of only 6 percent.

The Free Press isn't alone among Southern Minnesota newspapers in calling out Parry. Earlier in the week, the Rochester Post Bulletin editorial board wrote in Will serious lawmakers please step up?:

To avoid a lengthy and economically devastating government shutdown, Minnesota needs  thoughtful elected officials who can set aside party dogma in favor of the greater good. Those incapable of such big-picture thinking should at least refrain from pouring gasoline onto the already-hot partisan fires.

For example, we'd politely ask Sen. Mike Parry, a Republican from Waseca, to go to some remote cabin in northern Minnesota, turn off his phone and spend the next several weeks fishing, water skiing or counting trees. Any pastime he prefers would be more useful than his comment that he government shutdown will be resolved "the day the governor resigns and (lieutenant governor) Yvonne Prettner Solon, with some common sense, comes to the governor's office." [emphasis added]

Great statesmanship, that. . . .

Earlier the year, Bluestem had heard Mike Parry's name mentioned as a possible congressional contender against Tim Walz and the WOM was mentioned in an article in the Faribault Daily News. Not surprisingly, that talk has simply died off as Parry's public profile was raised with this session.

Image: Plan 9 Parry by Tild.

Related posts: The Emo Senator cont'd: rocking chairs, resignations, and a retreat to retweets

Emo senator, part 3: Mike Parry collecting paycheck and per diem during shutdown

The Emo Senator, part 2: Mike Parry cries crocodile tears over laid-off state workers

The Emo Senator: Mike Parry calls for Governor Dayton's resignation, cites feelings, trust fund

Kandiyohi County vegetation vigilantes launch shutdown boat landing watch on Diamond Lake

Alarmed that invasive aquatic vegetation like Eurasian Water Milfoil and Curly-leaf pondweed may infest more of Minnesota's 10,000 lakes as a result of the state government shutdown, some Minnesota lake associations are asking for the state to shut down public accesses on infested lakes.

At Diamond Lake, just north of Atwater in Kandiyohi County, concerned citizens have taken matters into their own hands, patrolling boat landings to make sure boat owners clean their craft at the launch.

The West Central Tribune reports in Residents move to close lake accesses to stop infestation:

After enduring a week long state government shutdown, citizens are taking matters into their own hands to protect area lakes.

According to the Department of Natural Resource website, about 2,000 employees were laid off last week leaving about 220 employed. The layoffs have prompted some Minnesota lake associations to urge legislators to treat public lakes like public parks allowing no access.

WDAY News in Detroit Lakes reported Friday that three Minnesota lakes groups, including one in Becker County, are pushing legislators to close public access to the 360 infested lakes during the shutdown.

Terry Frazee, executive secretary of the Green Lake Property Owners Association, said he has sent letters to Gov. Mark Dayton and DNR Commissioner Tom Landwehr asking them to close the lake accesses.

Frazee said contamination is the biggest concern for the property owners association as Green Lake currently has Eurasian Water Milfoil infesting its water. He said the property owners just want to make sure boats are cleaned off. . . .

Want to get a friendly reminder to clean your water wells and prop? Well do you, punk? Then try Diamond Lake:

With a lack of presence by the DNR, Diamond Lake residents have started voluntarily patrolling accesses during holidays and other events, according to Jim Teschendorf, vice-president of the Diamond Lake Area Recreational Association.

But it's not the lake association's doing:

And as of Friday afternoon, Teschendorf said the association directors were slated to hold their monthly meeting this morning and he had not seen or heard any possible discussion of the issue.

He said the board is comprised of representatives of property owners from around the lake and, “if there was a large group that wanted to step forward then the board would pursue it,” he said.

The paper reports that others are simply calling for thoughtfulness on the part of lake visitors:

Calvin said he has received e-mails regarding the issue of closing the lake accesses but boils the problem down to personal responsibility by the boat owners rather then relying on the DNR.

“Coming from a known contaminated lake be courteous, of other citizens and decontaminate boat prior to reentering a lake in the county,” he said.

Images: Even Harry Callahan would use a water pistol for this gig (above); Diamond Lake (below).

The Emo Senator cont'd: rocking chairs, resignations, and a retreat to retweets

The Emo Senator's tender tweets from Waseca have once again enthralled the imagination of the traditional media and the inspired PhotoShop software of the divine Tild, who marshalled her vast knowledge of film and fiction to capture the zeitgeist.

Minnesota's legacy media is applying conventional standards of fairness and accuracy to report the incident. Drawing from AP reporters, Fox News 9 reported yesterday in Minnesota Governor, Lawmakers Meet Again Amid Government Shutdown:

Twitter has also become a forum for partisan bickering in both parties. On Wednesday, Sen. Mike Parry called on Walter Mondale and Arnie Carlson to "stay in their rockers" and also said Dayton should resign. Dayton responded, saying if Parry thinks he should resign, he must be doing something right.

The rhetoric only seems to be heating up, and Dayton has said the so-called "cone of silence" that was established prior to the shutdown is now gone because he doesn't believe the Republicans are giving an honest representation of the negotiations.

Perry had tweeted this respectful remark about the bipartisan commission started by former Vice President Walter Mondale and former Minnesota governor Arne Carlson:

@mikeparry mikeparry

With all due respect, Mondale & Carlson need to stay in their rockers unless they can get Dayton to do the right thing....RESIGN!

5 Jul

Since that loving comment, the Southern Minnesota senator has only retweeted posts by other tweeps, leaving Parry watchers inside of the press corps and out to stand watch until he rises again from this personal cone of silence. Bluestem is scanning the skies.

To paraphrase the opening words of Criswell in Ed Wood Jr.'s classic opus:

Good night, my friend. We are all interested in the future, for that is where you and I are going to spend the rest of our lives. And remember my friend, future events such as these will affect you in the future. You are interested in the unknown... the mysterious...the musings of Mike Parry, twit extraordinary.

Image: via Tild.

Related posts: Emo senator, part 3: Mike Parry collecting paycheck and per diem during shutdown

The Emo Senator, part 2: Mike Parry cries crocodile tears over laid-off state workers

The Emo Senator: Mike Parry calls for Governor Dayton's resignation, cites feelings, trust fund

Tales of Hoffman: Scenes from the ideological struggle in Fergus Fall, Minnesota

Suddenly socialist Mike Parry demands pay according to his needs

Thomas Trehus WDN guest column: Compromise is the only solution

This column appeared in yesterday's Winona Daily News and is reprinted with the permission of the author. Bluestem also recommends today's column by WDN online editor, Jerome Christenson, Minnesota used to be better than this.

by Thomas Trehus

The United States was founded on a basic principle of negotiation called compromise. The founders of this country, in all of their genius, knew the dangers of one single political ideology conquering all.

James Madison, John Jay and Alexander Hamilton knew the only way to make government work for all the people was to separate power and balance the factions that influence government.

Since then, compromise has been the only solution to getting things done amongst the two political parties. If the principle of compromise has been the only strategy to meet the needs of the people, then why haven’t our local representatives compromised in trying to balance the state’s $5 billion budget deficit?

By all means, it is admirable for a politician to stick to his/her campaign promises.

Greg Davids and Jeremy Miller both campaigned not to raise taxes, but to balance the budget through spending cuts.

Mark Dayton was elected governor by claiming he would raise taxes on the wealthiest Minnesotans to balance the budget.

Whether you agree with either of these philosophies, both were elected and both stuck to their beliefs when they took office, until Dayton did not. The governor released his budget with not only income tax increases on the wealthy, like he promised, but with spending cuts as well.

He compromised, twice actually, once in February and once before the legislative session ended.

Davids and Miller on the other hand, released their budget bill holding firm to their Republican Party principles.

The session ended while Davids and Miller did nothing to compromise with the governor on behalf of the people of Minnesota.

The result of saying no to compromise is a government shutdown starting July 1 that would halt most construction projects and cause 40,000 public employees to lose their jobs.

The impact will be devastating to the economy. We need to call Rep. Davids and Sen. Miller and thank them for holding firm to their campaign promises, but remind them that when governing, compromise is essential.

Davids can be reached at (507) 951-3893.  Miller can be reached at (507) 474-2562.

Bluestem author note: Thomas Trehus, who grew up in Houston County's Wilmington Township, attends the University of Minnesota. His post, Thomas Trehus: Thissen will improve Greater MN infrastructure, education and health care, was published in January 2010, as part of a Bluestem series by Greater Minnesota DFL activists writing about why they supported different candidates for governor.

Photo: Thomas Trehus staffs a booth at the Houston County Fair.

LTE asks "Whatever happened to 'good old' Republicans?" They're looking for solutions

About a week ago, the Litchfield Independent published Whatever happened to 'good old' Republicans?, a letter by Roger Flatten:

As an 83-year-old Democrat, I long for some of the past. I was active when the Republicans were conservative, but with a “social conscience.”

Those who fit this description included Luther Youngdahl, Al Quie, Arne Carlson, Stanley Holmquist, David Durenberger, and also the late Jim Ramstad, and Steve Dille.

These were “pre-Pawlenty” times when Minnesotans were proud to pay taxes to keep us at the top nationally in areas of health, education, “lifestyle” and a university and state colleges of stature.

I recall our roads and bridges being better than our neighboring states.

I suppose somewhere there is a plus for corporate wealth. Show me.

While Jim Ramstad will be surprised to learn of his demise, it's a serious question.

Flatten, a retired plumber  recalled in longer version of the LTE posted by the Hutchinson Leader:

I was a “union” plumber making good wages with benefits, my boss was a “plumbing shop owner” making a good living.

Somewhere “no taxes,” wealth and greed comes in as a plus. Is that right?

Today, there's an answer for Flatten: some of those "men of great stature" are teaming up with Walter Mondale to help resolve the budget impasse. While Stanley Holmquist has passed, my former state senator, Steve Dille, will be on a commission now forming.

Forum Communications capitol reporter Don Davis reports in Government shutdown Day 5: talk of talks:

This morning, former Vice President Walter Mondale and former Gov. Arne Carlson proposed forming a committee that could produce a budget solution. They suggested former Sen. Steve Dille, a moderate Republican from Dassel, as co-chairman.

Minnpost's Doug Grow has more in 'All-star' politicians announcing bipartisan committee to find 'third way' to solve Minnesota budget crisis:

An all-star group of Minnesota politicians has put together a bipartisan committee that has been charged with rapidly coming up with “a third way” to solve the state’s budget crisis and end the government shutdown.

Former Gov. Arne Carlson, former Vice President Walter Mondale and former U.S. Sen. Dave Durenberger are the movers and shakers behind the committee, which clearly is being formed with the blessing of Gov. Mark Dayton. . . .

Members of the committee include a combination of business leaders, former legislators, former government finance officials, as well as current Management and Budget Commissioner Jim Schowalter, who was an assistant commissioner under Gov. Tim Pawlenty.

Co-chairs of the committee will be former DFL state legislator Wayne Simoneau, who served as commissioner of Employee Relations and later Finance under Gov. Arne Carlson, and former state Sen. Steve Dille of Dassel, a Republican who retired after the 2010 session.

Other committee members include:

• John Gunyou, city manager of Minnetonka, former Finance commissioner under Carlson and the running mate of Margaret Anderson Kelliher in her unsuccessful bid to be the DFL’s gubernatorial candidate last November;

• Jay Kiedrowski, former Finance commissioner under Gov. Rudy Perpich;

• Former Wells Fargo CEO Jim Campbell; and

• Former Medtronic Vice President Kris Johnson. 

Committee told to move fast
The committee has two distinct charges: Move rapidly and don’t be tied to any of the parameters — such as no new taxes and a fourth income-tax tier — that bogged down negotiations and led to the current shutdown. ...

While this development may answer Flatten's question, the Republicans involved are a far cry from the current face of the MNGOP. Davis's report notes how difficult ending the shutdown will be, given the current cast of characters in the Sutton and Brodkorb show:

Restarting the talks may not be easy. Some Republicans are furious at Dayton.

Take, for instance, Sen. Mike Parry, R-Waseca, chairman of the Senate State Government Committee, a key panel when it comes to funding state government.

“The guy should resign,” Parry told the Mankato Free Press about Dayton. “He should resign as governor and let (Lt. Gov.) Yvonne Prettner Solon finish out his term because he’s shown to me that he doesn’t care about the state of Minnesota.”

Parry continued: “Let me tell you, the governor has no feelings. If he did, he would not put 22,000 people out of work on July 1. He has no feelings. ... The shutdown doesn’t bother him at all. He gets his trust fund.”

The southern Minnesota senator’s comments show that last week’s breakdown of budget talks still hurts. While Dayton spoke Thursday night, several Republicans heckled him.

The Washington Post has more in Walter Mondale to help end Minnesota shutdown:

Despite the group’s bipartisan nature, some Republicans were skeptical.

“This looks to be a group that was put together by the governor, so I expect it’s going to have that kind of flavor when it comes to balancing the budget,” said state Sen. Geoff Michel (R), the state Senate deputy majority leader. “We’ve got a job to do and I don’t believe we’ll be able to outsource it.”

Funny words from a caucus that didn't hesitate to borrow its own private budget numbers from private firms that were jockeying to help the Republican senate majority "re-invent" government. In the end, Brodkorb's caucus relented and accepted the customory budget notes.

Perhaps some common sense will set in here as well. Or maybe not. But Dille was a terrific and popular state senator for this district, who st a very different tone than Scott Newman, the man who replaced him. It's good to see that old civil example set by the genial veterinarian and farmer returning to the fray.

Update: Doug Grow has more in Skepticism, lack of enthusiasm greet 'third way' budget solution plan. Current Republican leadership is not down with the idea. Given Brodkorb's pre-announcement tweets last night, no surprise.

Photo: Retired Senator Steve Dille.

 

Emo senator, part 3: Mike Parry collecting paycheck and per diem during shutdown

Yesterday, in The Emo Senator: Mike Parry calls for Governor Dayton's resignation, cites feelings, trust fund, Bluestem asked:

Income during the shutdown? Dayton is refusing his paycheck, the Free Press reported in earlier in June. Parry? Good question, but not one Bluestem can answer via online sources or databases like Nexis. At the St. Cloud Times, Mark Sommerhauser notes that 14 of 66 members of the Minnesota senate have "opted not to receive their July paychecks" in Despite shutdown, many lawmakers take checks; the paper only mentions the decisions by local representatives in the Granite City.

Thank heavens for readers like Max Hailperin, who supplied an answer in Bluestem's comment section:

Actually, Parry answered this in another Free Press article [ State shutdown: Q&A with local legislators].

"Will you collect any pay or per diem, now or later, for the period that state government is shut down?...

Parry: 'Absolutely. We’re citizen-legislators. We’re paid for five months of work, $31,000. They spread it out throughout the year.

I’m working. I’m on- call. I’ll continue to accept that salary the citizens have given us.'”

So Dayton isn't taking his salary, while Parry continues to take his own (after whining about its size when his taking the fullest possible per diem became news), as Bluestem posted in Suddenly socialist Mike Parry demands pay according to his needs.

Okay then.  Maybe show up for a parade or two in your district while you're on call, Mike, instead of letting poor Dave Senjem take the heat.

In the Mankato Free Press Q & A, the other Mankato-area Senators--Julie Rosen, Kathy Sheran, and Al DeKruif--pledged not to take per diem related to the shutdown during  or after the event, with Rosen and Sheran refusing pay. DeKruif tied his decision on pay to follow whatever Minneapolis Senator Larry Pogemiller was doing.

Related posts: The Emo Senator: Mike Parry calls for Governor Dayton's resignation, cites feelings, trust fund

The Emo Senator, part 2: Mike Parry cries crocodile tears over laid-off state workers

MPR's awesome blossom; or, who represents Blooming Prairie in the Minnesota Senate?

Suddenly socialist Mike Parry demands pay according to his needs