County loses $681,153 July 1

By MaryHelen Swanson
Little is settled yet in St. Paul with a state budget that is bound to cause problems for local governments when all is said and done.
What is done, as noted at the Feb. 19 county board meeting, is a first round of cuts that means on July 1, Chisago County will lose $681,153 that had been planned for this yearís budget.
Itís gone.
How much more will be taken away, is not yet determined, but Governor Tim Pawlenty is wielding another axe with a Chisago County number for 2004 standing at $1,064,937.
On Feb. 12, the commissioners met with county staff to begin discussions on how to deal with the loss.
Lay offs are a distinct possibility.
The process will be difficult, and until final numbers are known, no real decisions can be made.
Still, the county is holding yet another special meeting with the staff to work on budget reduction issues on March 12.
It may be April or even May before final decisions can be made. The county expects to be prepared for the fallout.
One department getting a jump start on the budget crunch is the Heartland Express in conjunction with the Minnesota Department of Transportation.
Anticipating a 5 percent cut from MnDOT, which partially funds the Heartland transit program, the county board accepted the following recommendations as presented by Heartland director Jackie Forner:
ï The Heartland bus will not run on the following holidays- MLK, Presidentís Day, Veteranís Day, the day after Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve. That will be a savings of $4,818, based on 2002 salaries and a $1,122 additional savings of 3,300 miles at 34 cents per mile.
ï The county would eliminate subsidizing the volunteer driver program and charge a flat rate of 40 cents per mile for the service, seeing a $700 savings per year.
The board approved policy changes that included charging passengers for no-show trips. This means that before they are allowed to book another trip, they must make arrangements to pay for the no-show.
This is effective March 1.
In addition, starting with the 2003-2004 school year, the cost for student transportation would increase from $1.50 to $2 per one-way ride. This includes private and pre-schools. There will also be an increase in inter-county service to $3 per one-way trip for student transportation.

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