Dakota, Rice Counties Figuring Out Details of Minnesota Shutdown

As expected, Minnesota’s government closed for business at midnight Friday after leaders at the Capitol failed to bridge a $5 billion stalemate and craft a new budget for the state.

The result has officials from Dakota and Rice counties scrambling to tie down exactly what the ramifications of a shutdown are for the county.

But some of the bigger questions do have answers. According to Gail Plewacki, the county’s director of communications, the county isn’t expecting its $71 million stream of County Program Aid, or federal funds—both of which come from the state—to be interrupted.

As a result, short-term, all of the county’s 275 employees will still have jobs on Friday, Plewacki said.

It's a similar story in Rice County, according to Administrator Gary Weiers.

Weiers and his staff are still figuring the immediate ramifications of a shutdown, but said some social services and health programs will be impacted, as well aid being disrupted.

Because information has come slowly from the state, Weiers said his staff will spend the balance of Friday figuring out the details and will have a more firm grasp Tuesday.

What we know: Impacts of a state government shutdown on Dakota and Rice County residents will vary. There will certainly be a slowdown or even a halt to many social services that are paid for by the state but carried out by the county.

“(Dakota County) is who delivers a lot of the safety net services to residents in the county even though they’re funded by the state,” Plewacki said. As a result, county staff is still assessing the more than 150 state-funded but county administered programs to see if they’re going to be suspended, she said.

In addition to services, there will be delays in transportation construction projects that the state is heavily involved in, Plewacki said.

But day-to-day operations, at least at the county level, should remain intact, she said.


Dollars and cents

Dakota County’s $307 million budget for 2011 includes more than $59 million in County Program Aid and state grants, and another $12 million in federal dollars that are doled out to the county through the state.

Rice County was scheduled to receive about $2 million in aid to help with its $44 million budget.

As late as Tuesday, those payments were not included in any barebones funding plans from lawmakers that were in front Ramsey County judges. But a comprehensive June 29 ruling by Judge Kathleen Gearin made it clear Local Government Aid and other standing appropriations, such as federal aid, was to be disbursed to counties, cities and school districts, Plewacki said.

“The ruling has taken some of the pressure off,” she said.

It also means a shutdown won't force the county to use reserve funds to pay routine bills.


No layoffs in Dakota County—for now

While many state workers went home Thursday night with nowhere to work on Friday, for the short-term, the same isn’t true for most of Dakota County’s workers, according to Plewacki.

I can’t guarantee there will be no impacts on our workforce long-term,” she said. “If (the shutdown) is over quickly, we don’t have an issue with idle employees.”

For example, Dakota County’s license centers will remain open and operating, Plewacki said.

“The centers have everything they need—tabs, license renewal forms—to do what we need to do. The only thing is that when it goes from us to the state, they won't be finishing things on their end. But we can still remain open and do our jobs, at least short-term.”

It’s too early to say where layoffs could come from if a long-term shutdown were to persist, but Plewacki said it will affect only a “small portion” of the county’s workforce.

“We’ll do everything possible not to do that, but be very thoughtful if we do,” she said.
 

Day-to-day impacts

It’s too soon to say how many programs and services could be stopped, Plewacki said, and as of Thursday night, Dakota County still didn’t have a comprehensive list of services that halted Friday.

“We’re still combing through some of the things on whether or not they’re going to be suspended, but major safety net services appear to be sticking around.”

Those include things like Medical Assistance, MinnesotaCare, food stamps, county child protection services and services for the disabled.

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June 27:

June 25:

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June 17:

June 15:

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June 3:

May 11:

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