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Politics & Government

Golden Valley Prepares for Possible State Shutdown

DMV, Perpich school affected if budget agreement isn't reached.

To varying degrees, Golden Valley residents would feel the effects of a state government shutdown.

City Manager Tom Burt told Patch Thursday the city’s efforts to reopen the motor vehicle licensing department could be delayed. The Minnesota Department of Public Safety has to sign off on reopening the DMV and that the state will likely conduct its own audit of the department before that happens. A shutdown would delay both the audit and signoff.

The Golden Valley DMV office has been closed since April 1, days after the arrest of a clerk there on suspicion of falsifying vehicle registrations.

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Aside from some permits and inspections licensed by the state, a state government shutdown would have no impact on the city's day-to-day operations, Burt said.

The shutdown would, however, affect the Perpich Center for Arts Education in Golden Valley. As a state agency, the school’s training programs for educators would come to an immediate halt, though the schools 300 students wouldn't feel the impact unless the shutdown drags into the scheduled start of the school year, in September.

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This weekend was an eventful one in the ongoing struggle to prevent an all-out government shutdown of Minnesota state services.

Gov. Mark Dayton met with the Republican leadership extensively on Saturday and, according to Session Daily, reached consensus on a number of issues including state government finance, K-12 education, transportation, public safety, jobs and economic development.

But while it appears progress is being made, there is still cause for concern after Sunday talks ended just 60 minutes into discussion and both Dayton and lawmakers avoided the media, Forbes reported.

The parties are searching for common ground in their proposed state budgets, which differ by $1.8 billion. Dayton is hoping to tax the highest-earning 2 percent of Minnesotans, while the Republican leadership is staunchly opposed to any new taxation.

Elsewhere in Minnesota, the looming shutdown has left construction crews across the state working overtime to ensure road safety by finishing projects that would otherwise have been completed after July 1.

Finance & Commerce reported that MnDOT has given the green light for crews to work “longer-than-usual workdays and unscheduled weekend work to make sure road projects are (prepared) in the event of a shutdown.”

MnDOT is just one of many state departments hoping to avoid an expensive long-term shutdown.

MPR News reported that a state government shutdown could cost millions of dollars in lost productivity, delays and financial penalties. Here is a comprehensive list of costs associated with the shutdown.

Rep. Ryan Winkler (DFL-Golden Valley) has said he believes that if courts refuse to fund “core services” during a shutdown, this would force Gov. Mark Dayton and GOP leaders to reach a budget agreement.

“The GOP will cave. Only question is if they do it [before] they cause shutdown,” Winkler Tweeted last Wednesday.

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