Issue Position: Spending

Issue Position

If there's one thing that State government is good at, it's creating taxes. Income taxes, gasoline taxes, property taxes, sales taxes…the list goes on and on. They even figured out a way to tax taxes. Then there are fees to permit hunting, fishing, driving, and fees just to walk in the park. Creating inventive ways to fund itself is not a problem for State Government.

We have the money. The problem is HOW MUCH we SPEND, and HOW we spend it.

As a local elected official for over 10 years, I've seen how budgeting works -- and how it doesn't work. During that time I have been intimately involved in government budgeting. As the lead budget person for my Council, I have worked closely with government staff in creating budgets that serve the needs of the public, but limits taxes. Here's one thing I have found:

The only way to tame the beast is to stop feeding it. I've done it, and it works. You can not make a change, until you limit the money government gets.

Government has a built-in level of inertia. In addition, it has external influences that further expand its insatiable thirst for revenue. Government doesn't change, until it is forced to. "That's the way we've always done it" is embedded in every molecule of its existence. But when left with no other choice, government becomes infinitely more efficient.

As an elected official in the city of Mound, I worked with city staff to break this mindset. In just 2 years, we reduced our labor by almost 20 percent, through the promotion of voluntary retirements and consolidating or redesigning work groups. We looked at what we did, how we did it, and what we could do differently to become more efficient…from snow plowing to mowing parks to printing documents. As a result, my city's general levy was held flat in 2010, and flat in 2011, and REDUCED by 6.75% for 2012. You don't get these changes by following the "Business as Usual" philosophy.
I like what I see in the new State Senate and want to be a part of the solution. After decades of "Business as Usual", the new GOP-lead Senate is taking a hard and serious look at what we do and how we do it. Reforms are long overdue. It takes a strong and determined group to break through the inertia and redirect our State on the pathway to future success.
My background as a business analyst brings a unique talent to the table. My professional background is in developing analytical programs to review costs and ferret out savings. Here are the areas I'd like to look at:

* Local Government Aid. Reforming this is long overdue. Some parts of the state truly need help, but for others…it's simply an enabling source for wasteful spending, a crutch that allows the local taxpayer to NOT pay the bill for silly and extravagant spending.

* Education spending. Does the current formula honestly work for K-12 funding, or does it mask the true costs of local school districts from the taxpayers? Its time to take an objective look at what we spend our money on and why. We also need to give parents and students more educational options, through vouchers and tax credits.

* Transportation. I'll go into more depth on this in another section, but one thing is for certain: The State needs to focus on 21st century solutions, and not by using 19th century methods. Light rail works well in some cities. It doesn't for Minnesota. The State needs to focus on eliminating bottlenecks, not creating new light rail lines that require perpetual subsidies and are extremely inflexible.

* Nursing homes and vulnerable adults. We have a duty to help those who can not help themselves. I personally have 2 cousins with Downs Syndrome and know that we, as a society, have a responsibility to help them. But an able-bodied twenty-something year old male? No, we do not.
We can do better, we can spend more wisely, and we don't need more taxes to do it. We need leadership that isn't afraid to look things in a new way. I made it work in Mound…I can make it work in Saint Paul.

We can do better, we can spend more wisely, and we don't need more taxes to do it. We need leadership that isn't afraid to look things in a new way. I made it work in Mound…I can make it work in Saint Paul.

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