It is written: Three legislators doth not a majority of the Minnesota Legislature make.

Three legislators, though, can make a difference in what the Legislature does.

That's what Mower County officials hope. They are preparing for the pending state budget cutbacks in spending.

And it looks bad.

For instance, the salary freeze proposed last week by House Republicans. Consider this: you're a public employee nearing retirement after a career in government service. If your salary is frozen now, how will that impact your retirement to come?

Should public employees be blamed for the state's budget deficit?

Al Cordes, the Mower County human resource director, plans to discuss the proposal with colleagues at an upcoming conference this week.

Like others, Cordes brings up the "fairness" issue for this proposed budget cut and worries the ramifications are the "human element" of the deficit-solving equation.

While the 2003 Minnesota Legislature grapples with ways to cut spending, local government units are launching a preemptive attack. They are telling their legislators what programs and services must be funded. They are hoping to forestall becoming the red ink-letting to save the state government.

Worries over the loss of local government aid, another change in the property tax system shifting the burden, but not relieving it and the economic recession's impact on their domains has local government units, cities and counties alike, balking at any interruption in the money stream needed to provide citizens with the programs and services of local government.

Mower County fired the first salvo of discontent recently, when council officials invited State Sen. Dan Sparks (DFL-Austin) and State Reps. Dan Dorman (R-Albert Lea) and Jeff Anderson (R-Austin) to a roundtable discussion.

Here is a review of concerns expressed by Mower County officials and staff:

State mandates

Mower County Commissioner David Hillier, 3rd District, said the county has a budget of $34.4 million.

"Thirty-seven percent of that goes to general services, 23 percent goes to highways and bridges, 30 percent to the department of human services and the other 10 percent to miscellaneous programs and services," Hillier said.

Meanwhile, the county derives 76 percent of its income from state and federal funds and 24 percent from local taxes.

With that kind of dependence upon state and federal government for funding, losing any of it would adversely impact the county's ability to monitor animal livestock feedlots, a program Mower County took over from the state.

But creating another mandate would also hurt the county, Hillier said.

Corrections

The Minnesota Department of Corrections' proposal to transfer prisoners with less than one year of prison time left on their sentences back to their counties of residence could cripple Mower County.

The county is already spending $20,000 to $24,000 a month to house prisoners at the Mitchell County, Osage, Iowa, jail, Hillier said.

"That's because our jail, which was built to house 72 prisoners, now is only allowed to house 45 prisoners," said Richard P. Cummings, 1st District county commissioner.

Jail standards must be relaxed for housing prisoners and double-bunking rethought, he said.

Cummings added that the county was forced to add programs to "meet the needs of prisoners," which fail to qualify as punishment.

Tom Neilon, director of Mower County Correctional Services, had several recommendations.

"It's more than a beds issue. It's also a rehabilitation issue," Neilon said.

There is less spent on programming and field services than institutional costs in the state's penal system today, he said.

This "bricks and mortar" solution flies in the face of the conventional wisdom that restorative justice is needed, he said.

Aging

Another vulnerable area is the county's aging population. According to Hillier's information, Mower County has the highest population of over-65 residents in the nation.

"What will the impact be if we are asked to pick up a greater share of their health care expenses?" Hillier asked.

Reserves

Craig Oscarson, county coordinator, told the legislators, "Mower County's rainy day fund was only about $10- to $12 -million 25 to 30 years ago."

After rising to more than $34 million in the late 1990s, it is down to $4.6 million in 2003 after an aggressive spending program by the county commissioners and the designations of the funds for other purposes.

"Each year, the county commissioners have used their reserves to balance the budget, but that's going to come to an end soon," he said.

If the state decides to "take" the county's "rainy day fund," the day it can balance the budget with reserves comes to an end sooner rather than later.

"Local governments need the ability to increase revenues by raising taxes, increasing fees or reducing services," Oscarson said.

Also, Oscarson does not feel it is fair to look at counties with large fund balances, such as Mower County, and punish them for their financial acuity at managing their revenues.

Property tax

Mike Sutherland, Mower County Assessor, told the legislators to stop tinkering with the state's property tax system.

Immigrants

Nitaya Jandragholica, the Mower County cultural diversity program coordinator and a certified court interpreter, said the county must position itself to handle more new immigrant issues and issues closer to home.

"When the Farmland fire occurred in Albert Lea, it caused a large number of Hispanics to shift to Mower County to look for work," she said.

The cultural diversity program coordinator also praised the county commissioners for having the foresight to see the value of new programs.

The county's support of a Hispanic-language program to help immigrants obtain and keep their valid Minnesota drivers licenses was the first in the state.

Reform

Ruth Schmidt, financial assistance supervisor for the Mower County Department of Human Services, said any state budget cutbacks will only exacerbate an already troublesome situation caused by the sour economy.

"When the economy goes bad, we have more people in our offices," Schmidt said.

She urged the legislators to support reform measures that simplify the delivery of mandated programs.

The Mower County DHS must deal with no less than 12 different languages and 27 different sub-programs for health care for the needy.

Also, there is a constant battle to avoid duplication of services available to the needy, who can obtain benefits from the state and/or county, but also from private sector sources such as Semcac and the Salvation Army.

Also talking about avoiding duplication of services and reform measures was Kerry Randall, family facilitator-program coordinator for the Mower County Family Services Collaborative, who said cutbacks could interfere with that agency's efforts to assist families in remaining strong and independent.

Randall warned more emphasis is needed on outcomes.

"We need to know, how do we hold people accountable?" she said.

But when making reforms, such as changing existing laws, there are also dangers.

Patrick W. Flanagan, Mower County Attorney, challenged the legislators to "think outside the box" for solutions, but to be wary of tinkering with laws on the books.

Flanagan gave examples of new laws passed by the legislature, which, in turn, make both enforcement more difficult and pass along prosecutorial expanses to already financially strapped state court systems.

One was a DWI law change.

"Under this change, the DWI law requires a juvenile, who is 20 or younger, to lose their license for blowing only a .04 blood/alcohol rating," he said. "That's about like somebody walking up to you at a party and breathing in your face.

"But, if he's 21, he can drink until he has a .10 blood/alcohol level."

Another example Flanagan offered was the state's gun law.

"A juvenile can lose their driver's license for a minor drunk and driving violation," he said. "If that same juvenile is found to have a rifle or a shotgun in the trunk of the car -- maybe, he was hunting the day before or maybe it's his father's car and the shotgun is his -- the juvenile faces three years in prison for having a gun in his possession at the time of the arrest. Is that fair?

"There's so much disparity in the law, we've got to do something about that."

Natural resources

Bev Nordby, district manager for the Mower County Soil and Water Conservation District, told the legislators that cutbacks could hurt conservation efforts irreparably.

The SWCD is heavily dependent upon both the state and the county for its funding.

"If you hit the county, you hit us, too," Nordby said.

That could be devastating to conservation practices designed to protect natural resources, Nordby said.

Lee Bonorden can be reached at 434-2232 or by e-mail at :mailto:lee.bonorden@austindailyherald.com