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Saturday, January 19, 2008
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'We need to do whatever we can' Budget deficit has lawmakers searching for answers Associate Editor Looking ahead to a short legislative session that will be hampered by a state budget deficit, area lawmakers were less than optimistic Friday about securing additional funding for education, natural resources and transportation.
Speaking at the Brainerd Lakes Chamber's Eggs and Issues session at the Red Roof Inn, four area legislators provided brief previews and answered questions about what might happen when the Legislature convenes on Feb. 12.
Rep. Larry Howes, R-Walker, said the state's budget deficit might limit the Legislature to trying to make education more accountable and using existing money wisely.
Cass County school districts, he said, had a specific challenge in funding education through operating levy referendums because 38 percent of the property is seasonal/recreational and those properties are not taxed in that situation.
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Rep. John Ward (right), DFL-Brainerd, made a point at the Brainerd Lakes Chamber's Eggs and Issues session Friday morning at the Red Roof Inn in Brainerd. Listening to Ward were Rep. Al Doty, DFL-Royalton, Rep. Larry Howes, R-Walker, and Sen. Paul Koering, R-Fort Ripley.
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Brainerd Dispatch/Steve Kohls
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"I think it's time we took a hard look at that," Howes said of the seasonal/recreational property exemption.
Rep. John Ward, DFL-Brainerd, called for policy changes for how Minnesota provides funds for what he termed a broken education system. He cited research that said Minnesota is about 20 percent behind other states in education investment and noted how operating levy referendums failed in the Crosby-Ironton and Brainerd school districts.
"We need to do whatever we can in this area," Ward said.
Ward said he feared the current education policy is dividing districts into the "haves" in the Twin Cities area and the "have-nots" in the outstate area. He called on the business and the faith communities to brainstorm and help fix the education system.
"I'm going to be down there (at the Capitol) working, fighting, kicking and screaming," he said.
Rep. Al Doty, DFL-Royalton, also wanted to look at school funding formulas and noted he expects to see legislation to outlaw operating levies in order to force the state to provide fair education funding.
"The outstate people are getting tired of ending up with the short stick here," he said.
Both Ward and Doty stressed the importance of extracurricular activities in helping young people productive citizens.
"If we don't invest then we're going to end up paying down the road in social programs and prisons," Ward said.
There's a tremendous need for long-range planning in education funding, said Sen. Paul Koering, R-Fort Ripley, who wondered if the state shouldn't dedicate funding for education.
"We are going at things at a Band-Aid approach," Koering said. "I think our most important assets are our children."
Too often, he said, education officials shift from one strategy to another. He also urged his constituents to become more involved.
"You, as citizens, need to come down and weigh in," he said.
While discussing education, Koering criticized the Brainerd Dispatch's Vox Pop, a three-times-a-week column with anonymous comments on various topics.
"All that is doing is dividing the community," he said. "People who voted no (on Brainerd's operating levy referendum) are not ignorant and not stupid."
Koering said there have been companies that have had substantial layoffs in his district, intimating that played a role in the referendum's defeat.
"I'm going to ask the Brainerd Dispatch to stop doing Vox Pop," he said. "We don't need that."
On the issue of transportation, Howes cited restraints for the prospects of additional funding in that area.
"It's going to be very difficult to raise the gas tax this year, simply because of the economy," Howes said.
He said he could favor a small gas tax hike if Democrats don't go overboard. Using an analogy, Howes said this was probably the time to fix the Chevy in the garage and not go out and buy a Cadillac.
Howes also said he'd back a measure to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot for a slight increase in the sales tax to be dedicated to natural resources. He said he'd support it in this case even though too many dedicated funds reduce a legislature's flexibility and "it's not a good way to govern."
Rep. Al Doty, DFL-Royalton, said he would support a gas tax increase, since the money to put Minnesotans to work on bridge and road repair projects and industry price increases simply go to foreign oil-producing states.
"I'm convinced we need not only a gas tax but manna from heaven," Doty said.
Ward didn't specifically address the gas tax but emphasized that transportation was the backbone of our economy.
"Transportation, to me, is an investment" he said. "I hope we don't have to continue dialoguing until another bridge falls. It's about jobs. It's about economic development."
Koering feared that partisan bickering would stymie efforts at progress, particularly when the Senate votes on the confirmation of Lt. Gov. Carol Molnau, who also heads the Department of Transportation.
"This session, I predict, is going to be a very, ugly session," he said. "We always have to have someone to blame."
Koering said he expects to see a big push to raise the gas tax in the Senate as Democrats criticize the governor for vetoing a transportation package last year. He said he'd oppose a gas tax hike.
"It's not the right time," Koering said. "I, for one, will not be voting for a gas tax increase."
The Republican senator said he would support placing a constitutional amendment on the ballot that would call for dedicating 3/16th of 1 percent of the existing sales tax for natural resources.
In a closing statement, Koering explained to the audience that it was sometimes difficult for lawmakers to give definitive answers to their questions. "Sometimes our answers seem kind of vague, but everything is fluid."
Other topics the lawmakers addressed or listened to included:
IMMIGRATION - Illegal immigrants are costing hospitals millions of dollars in communities such as Willmar, Austin and Long Prairie, Koering said.
BONDING PROJECTS - Area legislators cautioned the breakfast group that requests for bonding projects went far beyond the available funding. Among area projects that lawmakers said they would push for were funding to redo sewer infrastructure in Pierz in conjunction with work scheduled for Highway 25; expansion of the Cuyuna Range Recreation Area; planning for a possible veterans nursing home at the Brainerd Regional Treatment Center;and fire safety improvements at Central Lakes College.
PERFORMING ARTS CENTER - A plan for a performing arts center at Central Lakes College has been placed on the backburner. Koering said it wouldn't make sense to push for that project in light of the state's more pressing needs.
ENERGY - Howes said the U.S. should drill in more locations in Alaska despite objections from some environmental groups.
FAMILY FARMS - Doty said he wants to keep family farms viable for the sake of rural Minnesota's economic health. "It keeps your school full, our churches full and hopefully your stores full," Doty said.
NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS - An audience member criticized the high salaries for the leaders of some nonprofit organizations.
CREDIT UNIONS - John Forrest of Brainerd Savings and Loan Association criticized the non-taxable status of credit unions.
Sen. Mary Olson, D-Bemidji, was unable to attend the session due to an illness.
MIKE O'ROURKE may be reached at mike.orourke@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5860.
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