June 28 Update: Countdown to Shutdown

With the deadline for a possible state government shut down less than four days away, Gov. Mark Dayton and GOP lawmakers met briefly on Monday to resume budget negotiations.

Session Daily reported that the two sides spoke for about an hour and reported little progress at the conclusion of the Monday meeting. It also said the parties tentatively scheduled a 9 a.m. meeting for this morning but there is no word yet as to the outcome of those talks.

Dayton called the Monday talks “constructive” and “cordial” but offered little else to indicate the likelihood of a shutdown.

If no compromise is reached, state services are scheduled to begin shutting down at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, July 1.

Department of Natural Resources

With the July 4 holiday weekend looming, one of the most immediate, and perhaps catastrophic, impacts of the shutdown will be felt by the the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

According to Albert Lea-based KIMT TV, this weekend more than 60,000 overnight campers and 340,000 day users are expected to use the DNR’s 67 parks across the state. In the event of a shutdown, those people and their money—an estimated $12 million per week—will go somewhere else.

According to the DNR, unless a budget compromise is reached, the parks will begin shutting down at 4 p.m. on June 30. The DNR website and Information Center services will be suspended and the administration expects to lay off most of its staff.

 Metro Area response

In anticipation of the government shutdown Hennepin County yesterday issued layoff notices to around 1,300 of its 7,500 workforce.

The layoff notices—which span everything from unfinished construction projects to unfunded care at Hennepin County Medical Center—come with a 10-day waiting period before becoming effective. Hennepin County Administrator Richard P. Johnson hopes the notices can be rescinded, and the shutdown avoided, before that time.

Hennepin county is home to 1.2 million residents, employs 7,500 staff and has an annual operating budget of $1.6 billion.

Ramsey County has also begun taking steps to prepare for a potential shutdown.

In its June 14 meeting, County Commissioners directed County Manager Julie Kleinschmidt to “quantify and categorize” the impact of a state shutdown on Ramsey County.

Kleinschmidt’s full risk assessment can be found here.

Ramsey County is home to 501,000 residents, employs 4,000 staff and has an annual operating budget of $585 million.

In  Roseville

Roseville Police expect a state shutdown will have minimal impact on its operations- particularly patrolling highways.

“As far as a state shut down having any impact on our daily patrolling of the state highways, I really don't see any impact on Roseville's patrol response to calls on the highway (Hwy 36, I-35W and Hwy 280),” Roseville Lt. Lorne Rosand said. “I'm under the assumption the state considers the state patrol an essential service and they will continue to patrol and respond to calls for service on our highways.”