2011 Year in Review
Published 12:59 pm Wednesday, January 4, 2012
5. State shutdown has local impacts
Jim Dolton of Alden connects his camper to the hitch of his Chevy pickup on the last day of June to be out of Myre-Big Island State Park before the campgrounds shut down that day. -- Tim Engstrom/Albert Lea Tribune
At first, Albert Lea seemed to be like the rest of the state in having to deal with a state shutdown. By the end, however, it appeared to play a critical role. Moreover, the shutdown turned out to be the biggest 2011 story for Minnesota.
Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton and the Republican-led state Legislature faced a $5 billion budget shortfall, and from January right up to the last day of June — the last day of the state fiscal year — they could not come to terms. Dayton refused deep cuts. Republicans refused tax hikes.
The state closed on July 1. Campers at Myre-Big Island State Park had to pack up and go home, just like campers statewide. No fishing licenses were issued. The rest areas closed on the freeways. Road construction projects stopped. Lottery tickets were not available. Several state offices closed unless they were deemed by a Ramsey County court as necessary. Riverland Community College stayed open. Tax deadlines remained in place.
And Freeborn County had to lay off 11 employees, something that would start another tale.
The shutdown affected The Children’s Center. Without the state government to distribute funds, federal assistance for child care stopped — at least until a court ruling deemed the funding as an essential state service.
Thus the stage was set for the governor’s visit to Albert Lea. He came after stops in St. Cloud and Rochester.
A roundtable discussion with Dayton happened on July 13 at the Albert Lea Business Development Center. About 58 people gathered to express how they are being impacted by the shutdown and to encourage protection for different programs in the budget.
Albert Lea business leaders urged Dayton and state legislators to get back to negotiations and find a budget compromise to end the state government shutdown. Representatives from both the public and private sector were present, including city and county officials, economic development officials, education leaders, chamber representatives, business owners, among others.
The very next morning, in Minneapolis, Dayton offered to accept the GOP’s final budget offer and end the state shutdown. Everyone who had been in that room at the Business Development Center felt like they had been heard loud and clear.
Albert Lea-Freeborn County Chamber of Commerce Director Randy Kehr said the meeting in Albert Lea was with business leaders and was delivered in a “factual, civil manner,” contrasting with some public outcry the governor experienced at town hall forums in the other two cities.
It took a few more days to call a special session and get the state going again. The state finally reopened on the 20th day.
When the shutdown ended, 10 of the 11 county employees were rehired. Rose Olmsted, the supervisor of the Crime Victims Crisis Center, was not.
In November, Olmsted filed a claim with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Minnesota Department of Human Rights alleging that the 60-year-old was terminated from her job as a result of retaliation or age and gender bias.
Minnesota budget officials said in November that the 20-day government shutdown in July cost the state nearly $60 million but saved it about $65 million in salaries that weren’t paid to state employees.
The Minnesota Management and Budget department said the state lost almost $50 million in revenue and spent about $7 million preparing for the shutdown and $3 million in recovery costs. But that was more than offset by savings in payroll costs for about 22,000 state employees laid off during the shutdown.
