By Rich Larson, News Director
As the state legislature resumes work today after the Easter & Passover break, all eyes will be on the budget negotiations that are now set to begin in
earnest. The task of setting a budget is made more complicated this year as legislators have to work out where the money from three separate federal Covid-19 relief packages should be allocated.
Senator Rich Draheim said the first task is to take inventory of all the bills in play right now and decide which should be voted on and sent to the Senate floor as stand-alone bills, and which should be possibly folded into a larger Omnibus Bill. Draheim pointed out that Minnesota requires a balanced budget, so all proposals must be tied to a funding source. Legislative leadership communicates the budget target to each committee chair, and then it is up to the committees to assign funding to bills and proposed projects.
Draheim said this process can take a little time. The Governor has made a budget proposal, as have legislative Republicans and legislative Democrats. Within each group, every legislator has something that they feel should be prioritized over something else. The Senator said that, at this time of year, the civil debate among legislators can get heated.
“Things get a little nastier when we talk money, so if we don’t talk money, we get along pretty good. It’s just as soon as the budget numbers come out things heat up pretty good. But it’s part of the process. We should have a passionate debate on what are our priorities for our citizens and Minnesota. And the whole state, not just one region or one section.”
There are six weeks left for the legislature to have the debate and come to a consensus on the budget for the next biennium. The legislature is set to adjourn on May 17.
Jeff Johnson’s full conversation with Senator Rich Draheim can be heard here
Resolution to approve body cameras on city council agenda
The Northfield City Council will meet tonight at 6 pm, with several items on the agenda. And among them is the resolution of a program that has been under consideration for five years.
The council will consider a resolution to authorize the purchase of body worn cameras, and to implement a body camera program. The city and the police department have been talking about body cameras going back to 2016. At first the cost for the program, including purchase of the equipment and the storage of the data was so high that it was prohibitive. However, in recent years the price of a program like this has come down so far that Northfield is now the largest police department in the state of Minnesota without a body camera program.
This is not to say that the program does not have its detractors. There have been questions about cost and ongoing maintenance of a program like this, and at the last meeting where body cameras were discussed, Councilor George Zuccolotto expressed real concern that the program was being presented as an end to any difficulties the public and the police might have. With that said, however, the general support among members of the council was so strong that a motion to approve the program was put forth and then retracted when the budget numbers were unclear. Chief of Police Mark Elliott is expected to present budget numbers tonight. With money in the city budget already allocated for body cameras, the council is expected to approve the program.
As always in all matters, the city council would like to hear from the public. The best way to express an opinion on any matter is through the eComment button in the City Council page on the city website. That page can be found by clicking here.
State launches program to aid renters and landlords
And the City of Northfield is offering indirect help to renters who have fallen behind on their rent due to the Covid-19 pandemic. 
A letter posted to the city website last week explains and offers a link to a new state program called RentHelpMN, which offers help to renters who are behind on their rent or fear they will be soon. Qualified renters can receive up to 15 months of assistance for rent and utility bills.
There are many requirements to qualify for the program, but income is the foremost among them. Income eligibility is based on 80% of the median income in the area, it varies by county and number of people in the household. The application also asks about the number of people living in the rental unit, and how far past due the rent is.
Currently Minnesota is under an eviction moratorium until June 30, and observers are concerned about a glut of evictions when the moratorium ends. RentHelpMN is funded by $375 million dollars provided by the federal government in the Covid relief package last December, and more money for a program like this has been made available in the American Rescue Plan passed last month.
Landlords who have tenants that are behind on their rent are also eligible for assistance.
For more information, visit www.renthelpmn.org
