Jim Mork writes: >Anyone who wants to protest library cuts should take their protests to the offices or >homes of Tim Pawlenty, Pat Awada and Steve Sviggum. Those are the people made >certain that we would have cuts in library service.<
Ah, sorry, I don't think so. First, Pat Awada is the state *auditor*, not governor, not a legislator. She has no power of appropriation or taxation. Second, the problems with library funding stem from the same source as fire and police funding--we spent too much money that we didn't really have in the 1990's. That's a City government problem, not a state funding problem. Fully half of the annual property tax increases we're going to see (and the mayor admits that they are going to happen) are going to go toward paying off the debts incurred under the previous city administration. Things like Gavidae Commons, moving the theater, and lawsuit payouts. You could blame it on the weak mayor system--it does result in a "you scratch my TIF project and I'll scratch yours" process between the council members. But I don't recall former mayor Belton fighting against it much. Look at St. Paul. Minimal layoffs, minimal cuts to service, and no tax increases for the (?) ninth year in a row. We're looking at 8 percent a year, every year, just to hold on to what we have now. Minneapolis has a lot of bills to pay, and we're going to be paying them for quite a while. Tim Pawlenty didn't spend the money, and neither did Steve Sviggum. They didn't sit down and chant, "Let's stick it to the Minneapolis libraries!" The voters of Minnesota elected people who don't want to increase taxes. Sviggum and Pawlenty are two of those, and they've made no secret of their position. What's more, the trend is toward them, not toward higher taxes. You can hate that, but it's the way it is, and we in Minneapolis need to find a way to operate our government in the light of that reality. --M. G. Stinnett Jordan TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.) ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
