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The governor of Minnesota and legislators warned Duluth leaders of hard times ahead Tuesday morning during the Chamber of Commerce's annual Duluth and St. Louis County Days.
"Thinking about that hard work that has already been happening in Duluth," said Sen. Tarryl Clark, Senate Assistant Majority Leader, D-St. Cloud. "It is only frankly the foreshadowing of what we are going to have to do as a state."
But combative rhetoric from legislative leaders and Gov. Tim Pawlenty during the Duluth Days event...may foreshadow a contentious session ahead.
DFL lawmakers took issue with Pawlenty's solutions to solve a $4.8 billion budget shortfall.
"The budget proposal that is on the table is about 71 percent one-time money," said Clark. "That is not sustainable."
Pawlenty accuses the democrats of wanting to "jack-up taxes" which he said he won't support.
"Not even Pres. Barack Obama thinks we should raise taxes," Pawlenty said. "One thing that Duluth is doing that we probably won't do is dramatically raise taxes with a 13 percent levy increase."
Pawlenty's budget involves business tax cuts and reducing health and human services. He also told the Duluth crowd that he supports a wage freeze for state employees.
As the governor and lawmakers battle over the budget, any lifeline for Duluth projects this session, may come in the form of a federal stimulus and possibly bonding.
A bonding bill to pay for Duluth's sanitary sewer project is something Pawlenty said he'd support.
"Wastewater projects are bread and butter infrastructure," he said. "It's not glitzy or pork or earmarks."
So far no bonding bill has been introduced.
Legislators have yet to put together their version of the budget. They are looking for input from the public first. Lawmakers will be touring the state later next week to get ideas and will be making stops in Duluth and Virginia on Feb. 20.
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