Politics & Government

City Would Avoid Worst of Potential State Shutdown

The city's core functions shouldn't be interrupted.

St. Louis Park would avoid the worst of a state government shutdown, and the city’s core functions should be able to continue running even if the state does not.

The state is looking at a shutdown if Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton and the Republican-controlled legislature can’t reach a budget deal by the end of the day Thursday. The effects of a shutdown would be wide-ranging, and many Minnesota cities would feel the impact directly through the loss of Local Government Aid. However, St. Louis Park receives no LGA from the state.

The city also would catch a break of sorts in the area of inspections for new projects. Many cities rely on the state for this, but St. Louis Park has its own inspections staff.

Find out what's happening in St. Louis Parkwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

This doesn’t mean that St. Louis Park residents would escape all the negative impacts of a shutdown. City manager Tom Harmening said people who receive assistance from state-funded health and human service programs could lose out, as could local residents with state jobs. But Harmening said basic city programs and services—like picking up trash and keeping police officers on the street—wouldn’t be touched.

“The things we do everyday will be functioning,” Harmening said.

Find out what's happening in St. Louis Parkwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Other local impacts could be felt, but St. Louis Park officials should be able to work around problems. For instance, residents who receive Section 8 income funds through the state would no longer receive that money, but the city should be able to process rent adjustments due to the loss of income. And the city’s Aug. 9 primary election might become , but Harmening said he expects it to go on as scheduled.

Municipalities like St. Louis Park did receive one piece of good news Tuesday, as retired Judge Bruce Christopherson ordered that the state must continue to fund the judicial branch even during a shutdown. Christopherson, who had been specially appointed to hear the case, argued that a state court shutdown would negatively impact residents’ constitutional rights.

Harmening said a shutdown of state courts would have had a big impact on St. Louis Park and other cities, adding that local officials would have been pressed into finding temporary solutions to a host of legal and criminal issues.

Ultimately, Harmening said the city is doing the best it can to plan for whatever a state shutdown would bring.

“My impression is that there will be some kind of shutdown on July 1, but how deep and how long is really unknown,” the city manager said.

St. Louis Park Patch has full coverage of how a state shutdown would impact some other key areas:


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