After analyzing Gov. Tim Pawlenty's proposed budget that calls for Local Government Aid reductions of 22 percent, Austin Mayor Bonnie Rietz said there are still more issues that need to be addressed.

"We knew all along that LGA was one of his targets," Rietz said. "I was not surprised. We've been preparing for quite awhile. We knew the ax was going to fall. We don't know specifically how it's going to affect Austin. There's a cap on (the reduction) so that cities won't be devastated. We need to know what things they are including in this formula to see how it affects Austin."

Rietz said Pawlenty's budget is unfairly having more of an impact on Greater Minnesota cities.

"What's happening to outstate cities is major," Rietz said. "We want a state where the cuts are fair and to keep the whole state moving forward. This proposal by Pawlenty really hits outstate cities."

But cities that receive LGA aren't the only ones that would suffer under Pawlenty's plan.

Youth tobacco use prevention and enforcement programs have reduced teenage tobacco use by 20 percent in the last three years, said Margene Gunderson, Mower County director of community health services.

Funding for those programs comes from the state Tobacco Prevention Endowment, which funds tobacco prevention programs throughout the state.

"There has been a marked decrease in youth tobacco use since the initiation of the tobacco prevention work," Gunderson said.

If Pawlenty has his way, the endowment will cease to exist.

Instead the principal from that endowment would be transferred to the state's general fund and interest earnings would no longer be available, according to Pawlenty's budget proposal Tuesday to balance a $4.2 billion deficit for the 2004-05 fiscal year.

The Minnesota Department of Health would be able to retain the remaining $3.4 million endowment earnings for fiscal year 2003 to fund youth tobacco prevention programs in selected communities, according to a budget update the Minnesota Department of Health sent to Mower County Public Health Tuesday afternoon.

Gunderson thinks that would mean communities would have to apply for the funding.

Either way, tobacco use prevention programs would no longer be uniform or widespread throughout the state. The program has been effective because teenagers were able to see the same message about the health dangers of tobacco statewide, Gunderson said.

"Kids need to see that message everywhere they go whether they're in Duluth, Austin or Winona," she said.

A part of the tobacco prevention initiatives includes the Target Market advertisements, which criticize tobacco companies.

Tobacco compliance checks at local stores are also funded by the endowment, Gunderson said. Public Health contributes to some school tobacco prevention programs and provides uniform tobacco use curriculum. Without funding, Gunderson is unsure if a tobacco use prevention program could continue.

"The difficulty is, if there's no funding for it, there's no one to do the work," Gunderson said.

Pawlenty also is proposing the consolidation of 13 grant programs into one Local Public Health Grant, which would cut $6.676 million. Another $3.932 million would be cut by the elimination or reduction of other grant programs.

Gunderson said the consolidation would probably make applying for grants easier. Currently the applications are detailed and tedious to fill out, she said.

"Streamlining the grant process could be a help," Gunderson said.

Cari Quam and Dan Fields can be reached at 434-2230 or by e-mail at :mailto:newsroom@austindailyherald.com