Mower County could lose as much as $800,000 in County Program Aid monies this year if Gov. Tim Pawlenty has his way.

“We don’t know yet what the Governor’s actual cuts will be, but we’re hopeful,” Craig Oscarson, county coordinator, told the Mower County Board of Commissioners Tuesday.

Mower County is preparing to host the Association of Minnesota Counties District IX meeting Tuesday, June 1.

Much has been made of the anticipated reductions to Local Government Aid monies to municipalities. However, Minnesota’s 87 counties also face reductions in state aid. The $800,000 figure mentioned at Tuesday’s county board meeting is a conservative estimated. It could be as high as $1 million this year, the county coordinator also said.

Oscarson attended an AMC meeting last Friday at Rochester, where the governor’s proposed unallotments to county and municipal spending were discussed.

“As far as AMC is concerned, they are telling the governor ‘The state budget deficit is your problem. Figure it out for yourself,” Oscarson said. The county board’s finance committee has been crunching the numbers since late-December 2008, when Gov. Pawlenty made the first unallotments at the end of the year.

Oscarson and finance director Donna Welsh asked county department heads to go over their budgets and list possible areas where spending could be reduced. The results were eye-opening: No program or service was spared, not even the highly popular veterans transportation service or 4-H.

The resulting proposed — no program or service has yet been cut — spending reductions follow the county’s own belt-tightening efforts over the last several years or since the state stopped funding mandated programs and services.

Now, the county is attempting to finance construction of a new two-story, 128-bed county jail and justice center.

The fine art of stretching available revenues has never been more acute for Mower County.

Ray Tucker, 2nd District county commissioner, said, “They will have to post a notice like they do on road signs: Proceed at your own risk.”

The financial caution signs will be out after Gov. Pawlenty announces his unallotments to county and city governments.

Margene Gunderson received the commissioners’ approval of a new Eliminating Health Disparities agreement.

According to the community health services director, Mower County will receive $2,339 this year from the Minnesota Department of Health for tuberculosis screening.

The commissioners also approved Gunderson’s recommendation for a new Children’s Dental Health Service agreement.

Children 14 and younger will be offered the free services.

According to Gunderson, the services will be offered low-income families on the same days Women’s, Infant and Children assistance is offered.

Also Tuesday, the commissioners accepted seven low bids for bridge contracts.

Dan Regner described the low bids accepted by the Mower County Highway Department as all below the county engineer’s estimates.

Three of the bridges are located in Waltham Township and two in Pleasant Valley Township, one is in Lodi Township and the other in Lyle Township.

All are box culverts.

The AMC District IX meeting will take place 8 a.m. to noon in the Mower County Commissioners’ meeting room at the government center in downtown Austin June 1.

According to Oscarson, AMC will prepare the agenda.