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State House member offers update on happenings in legislative session
Roger Skraba was in familiar territory but in an unfamiliar position Tuesday night at City Hall.
The former mayor and city council member did not have a gavel and wasn’t at the council table, but instead took part in the open forum portion of Tuesday’s meeting while standing at the podium.
That’s where the second- term state legislator offered a progress report of sorts on the happenings in St. Paul and in particular the Minnesota House of Representatives.
Budget issues were at the forefront as well as what may be in store for Ely projects, and Skraba assured council member John Lahtonen that the city’s prime source of revenue - local government aid - does not appear in peril.
“LGA should be fine,” Skraba said of the program that pumps more than $2 million annually into the city budget.
Skraba also voiced some optimism that Ely would obtain revenue for a proposed market-rate housing project.
“We are going to work through the IRRRB and get more funding for housing,” said Skraba. “In my opinion we are at a critical state. We need to get housing. If we get housing, housing follows the jobs. We have a lot of people who are retiring and moving on in age and they’re looking for that flat two-bedroom lifestyle.”
Skraba added that just that day, he spoke with IRRRB commissioner Ida Rukavina about “increasing money from the IRRRB into housing.”
But overall, Skraba said “it’s going to get worse before it gets better.”
“And it’s not all the federal government,” said Skraba. “State spending rose by 40 percent. If you run a business, it’s difficult to find 40 percent. Something’s got to give.”
Skraba spoke of potential changes to the free lunch program in schools, which was one of many new initiatives passed when legislators were working with a $17 billion surplus.
“There’s movement in the legislature,” said Skraba. “Where if the parents are making more than $156,000, those kids would not be eligible for free lunch. They’d still get their free breakfast, but for lunch they’d have to pay.”
That change would free up about $88 million, according to Skraba, and he said those funds could be used to secure teacher pensions.
Skraba, a Republican, was also critical of Gov. Tim Walz, for plans to reduce payment in lieu of taxes payments on public lands.
“If PILT gets cut, Koochiching County taxes would go up 20 percent across the board,” said Skraba. “In Cook County it’s about 10 percent, and Lake County 15 percent.”
Skraba predicted lawmakers would pass several “lights on” bills to continue the status quo but added there’s still more work to do to balance the budget.
“The budget will be balanced by July 1, but right now we’re not together,” said Skraba. “We have to cut something. What we’re trying to do is not cut the critical things that we use.”
In other business Tuesday, the council:
• Heard from librarian Rachel Heinrich, who dismissed rumors and social media speculation that the library would make substantial cuts including a summer reading program for children.
• Hired Emily Bernard and Maxwell DeBuhr as summer police parking enforcement interns.
• Approved lease agreements with the Ely Softball League Association, Ely Area Girls Youth Softball, the Ely Dog Park non-profit and Ely Arts and Heritage Center for use of city facilities; • Appointed Nora DuBois to the sanitation committee;
• Agreed to allow Mark Hoppe to salvage the Quonset building at 50 West White Street;
• Authorized payments to Low Impact Excavating, from grant funds issued by the IRRRB, for work on the Depot project and the Voyageur North Outfitters project.
• Heard from clerk Harold Langowski that bids for the Harvey Street reconstruction have come in below budget and that work on the major infrastructure project would begin next month.
