Gov. Tim Pawlenty plays hardball with Minnesota budget

June 16, 10:17 AMSouth St. Paul ExaminerRob Shirk

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Gov. Tim Pawlenty   photo courtesy startribune

The Minnesota state budget has a 2.7 billion dollar shortfall and Gov. Tim Pawlenty is determined to solve the puzzle without raising taxes.

Although the governor will hold a press conference later today the consensus is that he will employ an unallotment measure to reign in the imbalance. Minnesota law requires the budget to be balanced and the little used unallotment law would empower Gov. Pawlenty to bypass the legislature to bring the budget into sync by executive order. Management and Budget Commissioner Tom Hanson will also be on hand to explain in more detail the executive actions that affect the state budget for the next two years.

The ploy has been used so little that the term "unallotment" is not in my dictionary or in my version of spellcheck. The executive maneuver has not been used a lot and with The Great Recession in full bloom, Gov. Pawlenty is going to the mat not to raise taxes. He is obessive about it.

The legislature, for their part, will meet with the governor on Thursday. The Legislative Advisory Commission is set to advise the governor but they do not have the power to alter  Gov. Pawlenty's budget. The budget goes into effect July 1.

The crux of the matter is taxes, of course. The DFL (Democratic) Party is claiming that the unallotment measure may be misused. Instead, their leadership proposes a mixture of higher taxes along with cuts to produce the necessary revenue stream.

Taxes to Gov. Pawlenty is like Kryptonite to Superman. Our governor from South St. Paul signed an agreement with the Taxpayer League of Minnesota, a powerful special interest group whose main goal is to not raise taxes under any circumstances. Tim Pawlenty is holding up his end of the bargain as he has not raised taxes at the state level while allowing towns and cities to raise their own taxes for their own particular needs. Instead he has increased fees on various departments which only affect the people who use that service such as fishing licences or fees to enter state parks.

The idea is that if someone really wants to go to Itasca State Park, for instance, that person will pay the increased fees while those who choose not to go avoid any additional state taxes at all. There are bigger fees,  to be sure, but no state-wide tax. It's kind of like a user only tax as the only ones using that service are the ones to pay for it. Now he is asking Minnesota citizens to give the thumbs up on the unallotment issue, an executive order that has rarely been used.

It does not matter, in the end, what the Legislative Advisory Commission actually says as the governor is not bound to heed their counsel. Tim Pawlenty has not been inclined for compromise during his administration and many feel that his executive actions will stand. Governor Pawlenty believes what he believes and has never strayed off his path the last six years. Whatever the personal feeling for the man may be, he certainly is not a hypocrite.

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