Duluth Mayor Don Ness was thrilled that Governor Tim Pawlenty only cut 2.3 Million dollars from our state aid. Why? Because Monday night at the council meeting Mayor Ness had said he would be surprised if the governor only cut out 4 million so he expected it to be far worse then what it was cut on Tuesday.
Well the Mayor understands the hardship this will put on the city it turns out not to be as bad as thought. He said we will over come this. There will be tuff choices to make once again. Mayor Ness said “We’ll have to focus on core services in city government and continue to find ways to let go of services that aren’t core to our mission,” he said, citing as examples cuts to the senior dining program, the grocery bus, the Washington Center pool and zoo operations.
The above is cross posted on www.duluthnewsnow.blogspot.com
The Mayor is taking a great approach to this cut. He understands the problem the State is having as well as many cities across the state face. Now it is our time to figure out what can be done. I like that the Mayor is not talking about cutting core service.
Some information provided by the Duluth News Tribune. www.duluthnewstribune.com
****UPDATE**** 10 AM.
I saw this on Brandon Stahl’s blogs . http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/pages/buzz
The Mayor praised the Governor. Say what?
"I would like to give the governor credit for the way he addressed the LGA cuts. Certainly the cuts are going to be significant and have a detrimental impact. But basing it on a percent of levy and aid, he made a statement that he expects every city and community in Minnesota to contribute to solving the issue. There are ways he could have made his proposal that would have put additional burden on core cities and regional centers; Minneapolis, St. Paul, Duluth, Mankato, St. Cloud. So I appreciate his approach on that decision."
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