That can mean how long it takes police, fire or ambulance crews to respond when every minute counts. If cities have to cut police and fire protection, it does more than put that city’s residents and businesses in greater jeopardy, said firefighter St. Paul Ken Zepeda. It also means nearby cities can’t depend on those forces to back up their own.
 |
| People rallied at the Capitol to save Local Government Aid. Photo by Michael Kuchta |
Saving lives can mean having the planning and training in place when a community needs to respond to disasters such as a toxic spill, said Mankato police official Amy Vokal. If you want other examples, other speakers pointed out, just look at the cities along in the flooded Red River Valley.
Zepada, a first-year firefighter in St. Paul and member of International Association of Fire Fighters Local 21, said a 14-percent cut to the St. Paul Fire Department’s budget would mean the loss of a full company, or 56 full-time employees. “I’m the last guy on the seniority list, so whatever job cuts come leave me without a job,” Zepada said.
But saving lives, can also mean small, everyday things, said speakers such as St. Paul librarian Robin Madsen, a member of AFSCME Local 1842. Simple services – such as having books, library internet services or recreation centers – can change lives long-term for students, senior citizens, young people and others who don’t always have the best options, Madsen said.
Madsen related the story of a retired, physically handicapped man who visits her bookmobile “religiously” every other week. Upon arriving at work one day, Madsen found a voice mail left by the man at 3:40 a.m. He was up late, not feeling well and taking comfort in the new book he had just borrowed.
“He just wanted to call at 3:40 in the morning and say thank you,” Madsen said. “That’s what LGA pays for in St. Paul.”
“This is about the people of Minnesota. This is about the services of Minnesota,” said Mary Hamann-Roland, mayor of Apple Valley, a suburb that actually does not receive any LGA. But she, like St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman, Sen. Tom Bakk and Rep. Tom Rukavina, said LGA is a covenant between the state and its local communities.
“When cities are healthy – all cities – we’re better as a state,” Hamann-Roland said.
But since Pawlenty became governor, his budgets have cut Local Government Aid nearly in half on a per capita basis, according to a new report by the organization Minnesota 2020. And that was before Pawlenty cut more than $50 million last year and penciled in more than $250 million in additional cuts in his latest budget proposals. See analysis by Minnesota 2020.
LGA plays another key role, said Wadena Mayor Wayne Wolden. It helps keep property taxes lower. If the state cuts LGA, cities don’t have much choice, he said. They can cut services or raise property taxes.
Many communities have done both. Since 2003, property taxes statewide have increased 45 percent.
DFL Sen. Tom Bakk of Cook, a former member of the Carpenters union, said Pawlenty’s no-new-tax approach to governing has pushed more of the burden for public safety and services onto cities – and, as a result, middle class homeowners.
Property taxes increased by $2.7 billion, or 53.8 percent, between 2003 and 2008, Bakk said.
“Gov. Pawlenty has abandoned local governments under his tenure,” Bakk said. “He’ll talk about how public safety is the most important thing to him. But who carries out public safety? It’s carried out by local governments.
“We need to rebuild the commitment, the relationship between the state and our local governments, and that means protecting LGA.”
Michael Kuchta is communications coordinator for AFSCME Minnesota Council 5. Michael Moore edits The Union Advocate, the official publication of the St. Paul Regional Labor Federation.
For more information
To see what Pawlenty’s cuts would mean for your community, or to view video of the “Thank LGA” rally, go to www.thanklga.com.
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That can mean how long it takes police, fire or ambulance crews to respond when every minute counts. If cities have to cut police and fire protection, it does more than put that city’s residents and businesses in greater jeopardy, said firefighter St. Paul Ken Zepeda. It also means nearby cities can’t depend on those forces to back up their own.
|
| People rallied at the Capitol to save Local Government Aid.
Photo by Michael Kuchta |
Saving lives can mean having the planning and training in place when a community needs to respond to disasters such as a toxic spill, said Mankato police official Amy Vokal. If you want other examples, other speakers pointed out, just look at the cities along in the flooded Red River Valley.
Zepada, a first-year firefighter in St. Paul and member of International Association of Fire Fighters Local 21, said a 14-percent cut to the St. Paul Fire Department’s budget would mean the loss of a full company, or 56 full-time employees. “I’m the last guy on the seniority list, so whatever job cuts come leave me without a job,” Zepada said.
But saving lives, can also mean small, everyday things, said speakers such as St. Paul librarian Robin Madsen, a member of AFSCME Local 1842. Simple services – such as having books, library internet services or recreation centers – can change lives long-term for students, senior citizens, young people and others who don’t always have the best options, Madsen said.
Madsen related the story of a retired, physically handicapped man who visits her bookmobile “religiously” every other week. Upon arriving at work one day, Madsen found a voice mail left by the man at 3:40 a.m. He was up late, not feeling well and taking comfort in the new book he had just borrowed.
“He just wanted to call at 3:40 in the morning and say thank you,” Madsen said. “That’s what LGA pays for in St. Paul.”
“This is about the people of Minnesota. This is about the services of Minnesota,” said Mary Hamann-Roland, mayor of Apple Valley, a suburb that actually does not receive any LGA. But she, like St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman, Sen. Tom Bakk and Rep. Tom Rukavina, said LGA is a covenant between the state and its local communities.
“When cities are healthy – all cities – we’re better as a state,” Hamann-Roland said.
But since Pawlenty became governor, his budgets have cut Local Government Aid nearly in half on a per capita basis, according to a new report by the organization Minnesota 2020. And that was before Pawlenty cut more than $50 million last year and penciled in more than $250 million in additional cuts in his latest budget proposals. See analysis by Minnesota 2020.
LGA plays another key role, said Wadena Mayor Wayne Wolden. It helps keep property taxes lower. If the state cuts LGA, cities don’t have much choice, he said. They can cut services or raise property taxes.
Many communities have done both. Since 2003, property taxes statewide have increased 45 percent.
DFL Sen. Tom Bakk of Cook, a former member of the Carpenters union, said Pawlenty’s no-new-tax approach to governing has pushed more of the burden for public safety and services onto cities – and, as a result, middle class homeowners.
Property taxes increased by $2.7 billion, or 53.8 percent, between 2003 and 2008, Bakk said.
“Gov. Pawlenty has abandoned local governments under his tenure,” Bakk said. “He’ll talk about how public safety is the most important thing to him. But who carries out public safety? It’s carried out by local governments.
“We need to rebuild the commitment, the relationship between the state and our local governments, and that means protecting LGA.”
Michael Kuchta is communications coordinator for AFSCME Minnesota Council 5. Michael Moore edits The Union Advocate, the official publication of the St. Paul Regional Labor Federation.
For more information
To see what Pawlenty’s cuts would mean for your community, or to view video of the “Thank LGA” rally, go to www.thanklga.com.