Mark Dayton Facing Other Issues After Gov't Shutdown Ends
Minnesota ended its 19-day shutdown – the longest in U.S. history – and state workers and departments are slowly getting back to business. Yet the fallout from the shutdown, combined with some new economic developments, may be giving Governor Mark Dayton some more sleepless nights.
The shutdown ended around 9 a.m. on Wednesday and state employees were called back to work starting at 6 a.m. on Thursday. They have been off the job since July 1 after Dayton and the legislature failed to reach an agreement on taxes and spending. The Governor brushed aside the Republicans offer of a short-term budget deal as the deadline approached, thus leading to the shutdown.
The shutdown ended with a budget agreement neither side sought to embrace. Republicans did not get the spending cuts they wanted and Dayton didn’t get his wish to increase taxes on the state’s wealthiest citizens.
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The compromise agreement included borrowing $1.3 billion – $700 million by delaying state payments to school districts and another $640 million from selling tobacco bonds to investors.
“It’s not what I wanted, but it’s the best option that was available and would be for any time,” Dayton told reporters after signing the budget bills.
Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch had to rally rank and file members to support the final bill, saying rounding up the necessary votes “was a lot of work.”
House Speaker Kurt Zellers encouraged all 71 Republican members in the House to vote in unity on all the budget bills telling TwinCities.com, “We were all going to do this together as a group, not as individuals.
Republicans also won victories by making changes to school vouchers, grading systems for teachers and eliminating teacher tenure, always a contentious issue.
But not all were happy. House Minority Leader Paul Thissen criticized Republicans for the borrowing component, saying they “forced” it upon Dayton.
“The fact is that this is a beg-borrow-and-steal budget,” Thissen said in a statement. “It borrows and steals from Minnesota’s future and begs the people of our state to look the other way as once again you simply kick the can down the road.”
Minnesota Vikings Threatens to Move Over New Stadium
Dayton’s other issue is how to deal with the Minnesota Vikings and their desire for a new stadium.
The Vikings put forth plans for a new stadium this year and found Dayton a willing partner for the $1.1 billion project.
As a result of the state’s budget impasse, the Vikings stadium deal was not addressed and Dayton is now reluctant to call another special session.
“I haven’t decided. It’s not ready to be considered at this point,” Dayton said to reporters. “We’ll have to see if negotiations proceed to a point where it can be…I take calling a special session very seriously and something I would not do routinely.”
The Vikings front office was not amused as vice president for public affairs and stadium development Lester Bagley offered a curt response.
“All I can tell you is that we are assessing our options,” Bagley told The Associated Press.
Vikings owner Zygi Wilf repeatedly said he won’t move the team but is being enticed from developers in Los Angeles. Wilf and the Vikings have put forth more than $400 million to the project, which also calls for a half-cent sales tax in the county that would add another $350 million to the deal. It’s the $300 million in state money that Dayton touted that is the hold-up.
Dayton must now find a solution to keep the Vikings in Minnesota, assuming the 2011 season moves forward. The National Football League is currently in labor disputes with its players union.
