Cities and counties in Minnesota have been waiting to see what the impact of the state’s short-term budget balancing cuts will be, and on Dec. 19 Gov. Tim Pawlenty revealed the unallotment plans.

The unallotment spared cities under 1,000 in population and the four smallest counties, but there is plenty of pain to go around for the rest of the local units of government.

Tough decisions will have to be made locally. Counties and cities with reserve funds can tap into those to some extent, but with big cuts coming up in the next state biennium budget, they will need to preserve those reserves as much as possible.

In cutting city and county services, councils and boards will have to set their priorities with care. Pawlenty said he expects that they will cut in the non-essential areas while preserving spending on public safety and other services. It’s winter in Minnesota, and as this weekend has shown, we need to keep our streets and highways plowed. We need to be sure that if we call 911, someone will answer and someone will respond.

In the state’s last budget reduction, New Ulm’s park and recreation and library departments bore the brunt. They may be the prime targets again.

— The Journal of New Ulm, Dec. 22