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Bubba's Korner by Dan Nordine editor
Dan (Bubba) Nordine, editor
I have to wonder what it is that makes many public officials believe they have somehow become more knowledgeable than their constituencies once they are elected to office.
It is true that they get access to some information not available to the general public. It’s understandable there will be some confusion, or at least frustration on the part of the public with their stands in these cases.
But then there are situations where the official will vote quite contrary to the public’s will. Even when they both have the same access to information on the issue.
What really sets me off is the Minnesota State Legislature. It sometimes acts in ways that can only be described as self serving to its members and deceptive to its constituency.
Last week we ran a story of the county board’s discussion of state imposed levy limits on local governing bodies. That discussion was held at the board’s meeting with District 1A Rep. Dave Olin on the agenda.
During the course of that discussion it became very clear that the state is attempting, once again, to offset its projected budget deficit by putting local governments in a tough financial position.
Most local governments, such as counties, cities and school districts do a very good job of working with their available revenues. State government, on the other hand, just can’t seem to grasp the concept of living within its means.
So they patch a hole in their deficit dike by cutting back monies already promised to local governments, and on top of that, force those local governments to limit what they are able to levy to make up for the losses. All the while, you will certainly hear state senators and representatives boast about what a great job they have done shoring up finances at the state level.
How stupid do they really think we are?
Because the state can’t manage its financial responsibility, city and county services are sure to suffer the consequence.
I had to wonder at Rep. Olin’s comment regarding the reason for the implementation of the levy limits. I certainly can’t speak for the commissioner who heard it, but his answer did not really sit well with me.
In effect, what he said was, Gov. Pawleny put them between a rock and a hard place by telling them he would not approve any bill that did not include levy limits of some sort. So they were looking at the lesser of two evils. Either pass the levy limits, or be forced to return for a special session to put together a better bill.
I don’t see a problem there.
Most of us, when faced with an extraordinary situation in our work, would probably work as many hours as necessary to solve the problem. We certainly wouldn’t shy away from the problem because it means some hard work.
Now, because members of the legislature wanted to adjourn on time, according to Rep. Olin, local governments will struggle with budget problems of their own trying to compensate for the state’s inability to deal with its own budget woes.
The problem with the state backing off on responsible budgeting is it also mandates local governments to provide certain services. The problem with that is, the local governments are also responsible to pay for the services. Its a simple thing local officials refer to as “unfunded mandates”.
Under better financial conditions, the state helps the local government through a sharing of revenues like Local Government Aid (LGA). And everything looks hunky-dory.
As these financial conditions deteriorate, the state reneges on the LGA but still requires local governments to provide the service. What makes matters even worse this time around, the state has put these levy limits in place. This restricts local government’s ability to raise the cash it needs to provide the service the state requires.
State elected officials take the credit for establishing these wonderful services, then force local governments into a financial corner trying to pay for them.
Does anyone else see something wrong with this picture?
It is understandable that it will be painful to everyone as the state tries to deal with a $2 billion shortfall. But it is insulting to our intelligence when they force their problems down to the local level, all the while expecting constituents to applaud their financial prowess.
God save us, this must be an election year.
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Bubba's Korner by Dan Nordine editor
I have to wonder what it is that makes many public officials believe they have somehow become more knowledgeable than their constituencies once they are elected to office.
It is true that they get access to some information not available to the general public. It’s understandable there will be some confusion, or at least frustration on the part of the public with their stands in these cases.
But then there are situations where the official will vote quite contrary to the public’s will. Even when they both have the same access to information on the issue.
What really sets me off is the Minnesota State Legislature. It sometimes acts in ways that can only be described as self serving to its members and deceptive to its constituency.
Last week we ran a story of the county board’s discussion of state imposed levy limits on local governing bodies. That discussion was held at the board’s meeting with District 1A Rep. Dave Olin on the agenda.
During the course of that discussion it became very clear that the state is attempting, once again, to offset its projected budget deficit by putting local governments in a tough financial position.
Most local governments, such as counties, cities and school districts do a very good job of working with their available revenues. State government, on the other hand, just can’t seem to grasp the concept of living within its means.
So they patch a hole in their deficit dike by cutting back monies already promised to local governments, and on top of that, force those local governments to limit what they are able to levy to make up for the losses. All the while, you will certainly hear state senators and representatives boast about what a great job they have done shoring up finances at the state level.
How stupid do they really think we are?
Because the state can’t manage its financial responsibility, city and county services are sure to suffer the consequence.
I had to wonder at Rep. Olin’s comment regarding the reason for the implementation of the levy limits. I certainly can’t speak for the commissioner who heard it, but his answer did not really sit well with me.
In effect, what he said was, Gov. Pawleny put them between a rock and a hard place by telling them he would not approve any bill that did not include levy limits of some sort. So they were looking at the lesser of two evils. Either pass the levy limits, or be forced to return for a special session to put together a better bill.
I don’t see a problem there.
Most of us, when faced with an extraordinary situation in our work, would probably work as many hours as necessary to solve the problem. We certainly wouldn’t shy away from the problem because it means some hard work.
Now, because members of the legislature wanted to adjourn on time, according to Rep. Olin, local governments will struggle with budget problems of their own trying to compensate for the state’s inability to deal with its own budget woes.
The problem with the state backing off on responsible budgeting is it also mandates local governments to provide certain services. The problem with that is, the local governments are also responsible to pay for the services. Its a simple thing local officials refer to as “unfunded mandates”.
Under better financial conditions, the state helps the local government through a sharing of revenues like Local Government Aid (LGA). And everything looks hunky-dory.
As these financial conditions deteriorate, the state reneges on the LGA but still requires local governments to provide the service. What makes matters even worse this time around, the state has put these levy limits in place. This restricts local government’s ability to raise the cash it needs to provide the service the state requires.
State elected officials take the credit for establishing these wonderful services, then force local governments into a financial corner trying to pay for them.
Does anyone else see something wrong with this picture?
It is understandable that it will be painful to everyone as the state tries to deal with a $2 billion shortfall. But it is insulting to our intelligence when they force their problems down to the local level, all the while expecting constituents to applaud their financial prowess.
God save us, this must be an election year.