"Be it resolved: Don't blame the Mower County Commissioners for the state's budget shortfall."

"Be it also resolved: No more mandates."

A resolution approved Tuesday by the Mower County Board of Commissioners "sounds" like that. The actual resolution is longer and more sophisticated in its wording.

Yet, Garry Ellingson, 5th District, said the message is clear: "Don't mandate us to do a program unless you're willing to finance that program yourselves."

The chairman of the county board was adamant about the meaning behind the resolution.

"We know there's a problem, but let's not make it worse with more unfunded mandates on local government," he said. "If that happens, it's not going to solve anything and in the end taxpayers will be footing the bill."

The Mower County Commissioners are aggressively battling the pending impact of the state's budget shortfall.

The reduction in state revenues due to a national recession has created a budget shortfall for the current biennium that is expected to carry-over into the next two-year budget cycle.

The resolution approved Tuesday by the county commissioners and intended for the Minnesota Legislature states the county officials understand everyone must be "active participants in efforts to balance the state budget."

However, the resolution also states the current level of funding for the programs and services counties are mandated by the state to provide must be continued.

If county governments are forced to raise property taxes or institute new taxes themselves to pay for state-mandated programs and services, it will have disastrous impact on local government, commissioners said.

The Mower County Board wants the state legislators to eliminate all directives to county governments to provide any program or service where state funding cannot be guaranteed.

In addition, the resolution calls for expanding the state's financial participation in county-delivered, state-mandated programs and services.

Lastly, the Mower County resolution advocates "Neither legislate nor adopt any policies that allow discretionary elimination of state-mandated services on a county-by-county basis."

As of the latest rankings by the State Auditor's Office, Mower County's reserves place it at or near the top of Minnesota's 87 counties.

County officials feel the undesignated reserves may be threatened if the state decides Mower County's excellent financial health is reason enough to allow it to take on an expanded financial role in providing programs and services for which the state has diminished, are inadequate or have no funding to provide.

In other action Tuesday, the county commissioners:

n Acknowledged a letter from Alvin Jacobson of LeRoy, concerning the fate of the Old Town bridge over the Upper Iowa river. The bridge has been closed to pedestrian and motor traffic due to structural deficiencies and liability issues.

n Agreed to expand committee reports at request of

Ellingson. Ellingson pointed out that the commissioners have 31 different committees, boards, commissions and task forces requiring membership and the representatives will be invited to update their fellow commissioners and the public on what those government bodies do on a regular basis.

n Heard commissioner Ray Tucker, 2nd District, and Dick Lang, 4th District, review the recent SEMCAC advisory council meeting. Members were advised SEMCAC can expect as much as a 20 percent reduction in state revenues due to the state budget deficit.

n Acknowledged the presence of the county's first-ever finance director, Donna Welsh, who started work Monday. She is assisted by Val Krueger, data processing manager for the county. Both work under the supervision of county coordinator Craig Oscarson.

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