Minnesota Management & Budget Commissioner Jim Schowalter said the shutdown impact was “blunted” by court-ordered spending. A Ramsey County judge ordered “essential” state services to remain open during the shutdown, effectively guaranteeing that 80 percent of state spending would continue to flow uninterrupted to schools, hospitals, nursing homes and many other state-funded programs.
In a report issued Tuesday, Schowalter’s office said the state lost some $49.7 million in revenues and incurred more than $10 million in preparation and recovery costs during the shutdown. But those figures were more than offset by the roughly $65 million it saved from temporarily laying off 19,000 state workers.
State employees bore the brunt of the shutdown’s impact, Schowalter said.
Representatives from AFSCME Council 5 and the Minnesota Association of State Employees agreed.
“The $65 million dollars that the Minnesota Management and Budget Commissioner cited as the reason there was minimal cost from the state shutdown was due to the sacrifice of 19,000 public employees.,” said Jim Monroe, MAPE’s executive director. “Make no mistake, the cost of covering the shutdown was taken directly from the pocketbooks of state workers. And, let me be clear, the impact on our laid off workers was not minimal.
“In addition, I find it troubling to read that administration officials claim that taxpayers were not really affected by the shutdown – have they forgotten that public employees pay taxes?
“Let’s not forget that the shutdown was caused by GOP legislators who refused to listen to the majority of Minnesotans who wanted taxes raised on millionaires. They were in charge, they did not lead, but they did make sure to receive their paychecks. It’s time for the political posturing to end and for the GOP Majority to work in the best interests of the citizens of our state.”
Said AFSCME Council 5 Executive Director Eliot Seide: “State employees lost $65 million in wages because a gridlock group of tea party Republicans chose to protect millionaires instead of Minnesotans. They laid off 19,000 workers instead of creating jobs. They ruined family vacations at state parks, delayed road construction and disrupted people’s lives in countless ways.
“AFSCME state employees do their part every day to make Minnesota a state that works. That’s a stark contrast with the tea party Republicans who created a state that didn’t work for 20 days.”
This article contains information from Session Daily, a publication of the Minnesota House.
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Minnesota Management & Budget Commissioner Jim Schowalter said the shutdown impact was “blunted” by court-ordered spending. A Ramsey County judge ordered “essential” state services to remain open during the shutdown, effectively guaranteeing that 80 percent of state spending would continue to flow uninterrupted to schools, hospitals, nursing homes and many other state-funded programs.
In a report issued Tuesday, Schowalter’s office said the state lost some $49.7 million in revenues and incurred more than $10 million in preparation and recovery costs during the shutdown. But those figures were more than offset by the roughly $65 million it saved from temporarily laying off 19,000 state workers.
State employees bore the brunt of the shutdown’s impact, Schowalter said.
Representatives from AFSCME Council 5 and the Minnesota Association of State Employees agreed.
“The $65 million dollars that the Minnesota Management and Budget Commissioner cited as the reason there was minimal cost from the state shutdown was due to the sacrifice of 19,000 public employees.,” said Jim Monroe, MAPE’s executive director. “Make no mistake, the cost of covering the shutdown was taken directly from the pocketbooks of state workers. And, let me be clear, the impact on our laid off workers was not minimal.
“In addition, I find it troubling to read that administration officials claim that taxpayers were not really affected by the shutdown – have they forgotten that public employees pay taxes?
“Let’s not forget that the shutdown was caused by GOP legislators who refused to listen to the majority of Minnesotans who wanted taxes raised on millionaires. They were in charge, they did not lead, but they did make sure to receive their paychecks. It’s time for the political posturing to end and for the GOP Majority to work in the best interests of the citizens of our state.”
Said AFSCME Council 5 Executive Director Eliot Seide: “State employees lost $65 million in wages because a gridlock group of tea party Republicans chose to protect millionaires instead of Minnesotans. They laid off 19,000 workers instead of creating jobs. They ruined family vacations at state parks, delayed road construction and disrupted people’s lives in countless ways.
“AFSCME state employees do their part every day to make Minnesota a state that works. That’s a stark contrast with the tea party Republicans who created a state that didn’t work for 20 days.”
This article contains information from Session Daily, a publication of the Minnesota House.