The Minnesota Management and Budget Department announced last week that the state budget surplus is now expected to reach $9.3 billion
dollars, which is, by far, the largest the state has ever seen.
There are several reasons for the situation. A statement released by MMB said the amount of money provided to the state by federal Covid relief programs has reached multiple billions of dollars, higher than expected consumer spending has led to higher tax income, and as noted by Representative Todd Lippert, corporate profits are much higher than expected, which has increased tax revenues as well.
The Republican legislative response to the surplus has been to pass a bill in the Senate that would repay $2.7 billion dollars to the state unemployment insurance trust fund, and to announce a tax cut initiative that would amount to $8.5 billion.
Lippert, the Democratic Representative from District 20B, said he and his DFL colleagues are not likely to support tax cuts to large corporations in a time when their profits are so high.
“And that really shapes the debate at the capitol. It shapes my resolve and that of my colleagues as we start having conversations. Because our colleagues across the aisle are talking about permanent tax cuts for large corporations, and we need to be focusing on the needs of families and the needs of Minnesotans whose budgets aren’t keeping up.”
Another reason Lippert said he is not ready to support a tax cut is because so much of the surplus is in one-time payments to the state. Just as important, he said, is the warning in the MMB report that the state’s economy could be heading into decline. While the state saw unexpected economic growth during the pandemic, the report noted that “uncertainty due to inflation and geopolitical conflict pose risk to [both] the budget and the economic outlook.”
Domestically, inflation is at a forty-year high, while Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine has created chaos in global trade markets that will only continue to grow for months to come.
Lippert said with more economic uncertainty now than there was even a month ago the idea of an across-the-board tax cut will not receive much support with him or the rest of the DFL. If anything, he said, the state should begin to think about putting more money into reserves while these larger issues play out.
Rich Larson’s full conversation with Representative Todd Lippert can be heard here
Library works to be more welcoming to teens
The Northfield Public Library is working to deepen and enhance the library experience for Northfield’s teenagers.
The library has developed a Teen Advisory Board, that, working with Youth Services Librarian Catherine Stricklan, is a service group designed to give teens a voice at the library.
According to the library website, the board makes the library a better place for teens to visit and find what they need. It’s members volunteer to plan, promote, and implement programming for teen events, recommend materials for the library’s collection, and serve as a voice for teens in the community.
Director of Library Services Natalie Draper said the board has been instrumental in the development of the newly opened Teen Space. She said the area will be run by teens for teens and will give them an area to simply be themselves.
“It’s still a little bit of a work I progress,” she said. “We’ve got the collection in there, we have some furniture in there, and we’re getting some paint on the walls.”
Part of the idea, she said, came from her own experience visiting libraries when she was a teenager.
“You know, my experience as a teen in libraries wasn’t always – even though I always felt at home in the library – I didn’t necessarily feel like I was desired there. And so, that’s always been on my mind. Of course, a teenager who becomes a librarian Thinks about those kinds of things. ‘How was I received as a teen in the library, and how could that have maybe been handled differently?’”
Another program to benefit teens, as well as students of all ages, is the new Drop-in Tutoring program. Draper said the service is available Monday through Friday from 4-6pm. The program is a collaboration with Carleton college, providing work-study students who are available to help at any grade level with any academic subject. Draper said there has been a need for a program such as this since before she arrived at the library and, with the pandemic concerns beginning to subside, she is very happy that they have been able to get it up and running.
City Council to discuss several topics at work session
The Northfield City Council will meet tomorrow night in a work session that will introduce several topics the council is likely to discuss many
times over the coming months.
After a robust conversation last week about flood mitigation procedures in residential areas, the council will receive a presentation on the Downtown Area Flood Study that has been underway for well over a year. There will also be a preliminary review of alternative options for ward and precinct redistricting. There will be an introduction for the council to the proposed Heritage Lofts apartment development, as well as the accompanying application for tax increment financing. And finally, the council will begin a discussion looking at proposed ordinance amendments related to the local rental and nuisance codes.
As always, the City Council and the Northfield City Staff are eager to hear the opinions of the public on any matter, whether the subject is on the Council agenda or not. As this is a work session, the Council will not hear from the public during the meeting. However, those who do wish to make a point, air an opinion or ask a question can email their councilor directly or make use of the eComment function which can be found in the “Agendas” section of the city website.
Rich Larson is the KYMN News Director. Contact him at rich@kymnradio.net
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