By Logan Wells, News Director | Logan@kymnradio.net
The series of executive orders issued by the Trump Administration in the last several weeks, particularly regarding funding, has raised questions about how it impacts every level of government, including the local level. Northfield City Administrator Ben Martig reported at the last city council meeting that some of the concerns among city leaders across the state about what could happen with federal funds. Martig noted that the city takes few directions from the federal government but that executive orders can adjust how the city receives federal money.
“If all of a sudden policies start changing and funding is tied to something, saying we’re not going to give you funding if not for these, if you do these things, there could be dramatic impacts to the city.” – Northfield City Administrator Ben Martig on the KYMN Morning Show
Martig cited one example with the Police Department body armor, which for most cities has been paid for by grants from the federal government:
“But if there’s a clause saying if you do any kind of equity work, diversity, equity and inclusion related work depends on how the federal government executive branch defines that they’re saying you might not get any of that funding.” – Northfield City Administrator Ben Martig on the KYMN Morning Show
Martig noted that federal funding could also impact many more institutions than just the city, including non-profit organizations, the public hospital, and the two colleges.
One area directly affected by Executive Orders is the passport services offered by the Northfield Public Library. Martig stated that since passports are a federal program, the follow the State Department policies. In the last week, the city had received instructions to remove all applications with the option for gender as non-binary. Martig cited this as the main example currently, of an executive order directly affecting the cities operations.
“I would say my peers and city administrators especially kind of ramping over the last week. I would say there’s a growing attention to what’s coming on this and tracking of it and I guess potentially also preparing.” – Northfield City Administrator Ben Martig on the KYMN Morning Show
Will keep you updated on any other developments regarding this issue.
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