Mower County officials will hold a round-table discussion with area legislators Friday to discuss ways to save money as the state faces a budget crisis.

The meeting will be held at 3:30 p.m. Friday in the lower level of the Mower County Government Center. County officials will discuss issues facing county government, and the legislators will give county officials a snap shot of what is going on with the state legislature. Department heads may speak on certain issues if they choose.

The county will recommend that the legislature remove some county mandates, said Mower County Coordinator Craig Oscarson. For example, one issue the board will likely discuss is the possibility of counties switching to a four day-work week. Current statutes state that county buildings must be open Monday through Friday during regular business hours, Oscarson said. By changing the mandate, the county could look into a four day-work week. Oscarson said the county could save an estimated $50,000 to $75,000 a year through lower utility bills and custodial costs.

“Schools and cities don’t have those same restrictions,” Oscarson said. “Our county, as well as a few other counties, believe we could be open four days a week and have extended office hours during those days.”

In other issues, state legislators will likely introduce a bill this year to redesign and reduce the number of counties from 87 counties to fewer larger counties, Oscarson said and added that some legislators see this as way to reduce costs.

“We believe that’s poor, and we don’t believe that’s efficient,” Oscarson said. “We also think there are some negative impacts on some cities that lose out.”

Oscarson said the solution to the budget issues is joint efforts between Minnesota counties, not combining counties.

Such joint efforts were discussed when Mower County officials attended a southeast Minnesota leadership summit in St. Charles on July 25 for people from 11 different counties to show legislators what counties do cooperatively.

Another issue that may be discussed with legislators pertains to an added county cost of transferring inmates. According to Oscarson, the Minnesota Department of Corrections said they don’t have money in their budget to reimburse counties for transporting prisoners from county jails to prison facilities. The counties would then have to pay the costs, rather than the state.

Government officials and employees aren’t the only ones determining how to fix the Minnesota’s budget shortfall. The Minnesota House of Representatives is seeking suggestions from the public on how to move forward with a state redesign project. People can offer suggestions on how the state can save money at the Minnesota House of Representatives home page: http://www.house.mn/redesign/.