Minnesota State Government Shuts Down, No Immediate Impact on Rosemount

The state of Minnesota has officially shut down.

After weeks of intense negotiations, capped by closed-door sessions through Thursday’s waning minutes, Gov. Mark Dayton and Republican lawmakers failed to agree on an operating budget for the coming biennium.

“I deeply regret that after two days of intense negotiations, we have failed to reach an agreement,” Dayton said during a 10:30 p.m. news conference in his office.

Dayton continued: “I offered a plan to raise the taxes of only those Minnesotans who make more than $1 million per year. That is less than 0.3% of the state population. Despite many hours of negotiations, the Republican caucus remains adamantly opposed to new taxes.”

Fortunately, Rosemount is not dependent on the state of Minnesota for any day-to-day operations, and city administrator Dwight Johnson doesn't expect any immediate impact to the city.

Johnson said last week that there was a potential concern "on several city projects that require state approvals or state reviews or just require a signature [which] could temporarily interrupt one of our projects." 

An example of one such project is the pending extension of Connnemara Trail to Akron Avenue. This project will use Minnesota state aid money that has been set aside for Rosemount but which would require a state employee's signature to access.

The city hopes to award a bid for this project sometime in mid-July, but Johnson wasn't sure at what point a shutdown will have the potential to cause a delay.

Earlier this week, Dayton said a deal would have to be done by Wednesday in order to draft and pass the necessary legislation. But the governor continued meeting off and on Thursday with GOP leaders trying to put an agreement in place.

At around 10 p.m. Thursday, Dayton rejected a two-page temporary funding deal from the GOP leadership that would keep the Minnesota government operational for an additional 10 days.

"There are a lot of people on the steps of the Capitol right now asking us to not shut down the government. This document is their answer,” Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch (R-Buffalo) said, referring to the so-called "lights-on" bill.

Asked for his reaction to the proposed 10-day temporary funding bill, Dayton’s answer was frank and clear: “I think it’s a publicity stunt,” he replied.

The day’s events smacked of the political posturing that has become characteristic of these budget negotiations.

There appeared a glimmer of hope early Thursday evening. But around 8:30 p.m., Rep. Tony Cornish (R-Good Thunder) reported to his seat in the Minnesota House, saying he had received a message from the GOP leadership to do so. “There is always time for a deal,” Cornish told reporters as he walked into the House.

The gesture was called “grandstanding,” “theatrics” and a “mock Legislature” by Democratic minority leaders Sen. Tom Bakk (DFL-Cook) and Rep. Paul Thissen (DFL-Minneapolis).

Bakk took the podium at 9 p.m. and pleaded with his GOP colleagues to return to the negotiating table instead of sitting in the Senate chamber. “We are running out of time,” he said.

Bakk’s statement proved prophetic. Fiscal year 2012-13 began at 12:01 a.m. today and, without a budget in place, the state of Minnesota is unable to fund its myriad services or pay salaries to its almost 33,000 state employees — 22,000 of whom left their offices today without a job to return to.

Pursuant to a June 29 ruling by Ramsey County District Judge Kathleen Gearin, state correctional facilities, nursing homes, public safety and payment for medical services are all considered “core functions” of government and will continue operating. Everything else is no longer functional until a budget deal is reached.

The heart of the impasse has always been a $1.8 billion difference between Dayton’s operating budget and the budget proposed by the GOP. Central to the issue is the method for closing Minnesota’s $5 billion budget gap.

While both Dayton and the GOP leadership have committed themselves to working further toward an agreement, no date has been set for the next round of negotiations.