As legislators prepare for a special session to vote on a budget deal that could end the state shutdown, local officials are waiting eagerly to hear the results of the budget impasse and how the entities they oversee might be affected.

“Having a budget deal in place versus not having one is probably a better thing,” said Freeborn County Administrator John Kluever. “But from what I can tell they’re still shifting costs and delaying payments and kind of kicking the can down the road two more years.

“It was my quiet hope they would deal with things long-term.”

Kluever said because a budget deal was not approved before the end of the work day Friday, layoff notices were still expected to become effective for 11 county employees in the county’s Human Services Department.

These employees had received layoff notices two weeks prior, notifying them about the pending action resulting from the shutdown.

He said it is likely these employees will only be out of work a few days — with a special session likely — but because no budget was yet in place they will still have to go through the entire process of layoffs and then bring them back to employment.

As far as other ways the county will be affected, Kluever said he has not yet heard how county program aid will be affected from the proposed budget deal; however, earlier in the year a proposal included a $700,000 reduction.

This is half of the $1.4 million the county receives in this aid.

What also might come into play, he noted, is cost percentage shifts for other programs that the county and state share costs for.

This includes costs for chemical dependency treatment, sex offender treatment and out-of-home placement, to name a few programs affected. The county will likely have to pick up more of the costs in these areas.

Shell Rock River Watershed District

Shell Rock River Watershed District Administrator Brett Behnke said he has a mixed reaction to the pending budget deal.

“I’m happy that they came together with something,” Behnke said. “It’s not quite what we all would have hoped for, but it does put our partner agencies back to work, which we use as resources.”

This includes the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, the Department of Natural Resources and the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources.

Even though the governor requested a bonding bill, Behnke said he is not overly optimistic that Albert Lea’s $7.5 million project to dredge Fountain Lake will be included because of the size of the bill versus the dollars that have been requested.

Behnke said he is, however, excited because the $2.57 million project for the headwaters project has been recommended by the Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council to the Legislature.

This bill never got voted on before the end of the session.

This includes funding to acquire the land around the Albert Lea Lake dam, for wetland restoration and wildlife habitat improvements.

During an interview in September, Behnke said if the recommendation is approved by the state Legislature, the state would buy the land, which is 257 acres located around the dam, from the current landowner, Greg Jensen. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources would eventually own and manage the land.

Watershed officials said the acquisition of the land is the cornerstone of their efforts to create fish and wildlife habitat and outdoor recreation opportunities for the public.

Albert Lea

City Manager Chad Adams said the city has not yet heard how local government aid or market value tax credits would be impacted under the potential deal.

Adams said it’s too early to tell his position on the proposed budget agreement.

“I will have a better reaction to that next week,” he said. “But it’s good that business will be open again at the state level so things don’t trickle down to the local level in the community.”

The city does, however, still have its bonding bill request in for close to $1 million for the historic downtown.

He said city officials are contacting the local representatives and the governor to encourage them to keep this project in the bonding bill.