REGIONAL- Gov. Tim Walz unveiled a proposed $982 million capital budget for the 2024 legislative session on Tuesday, and local governments, including Tower, were left hanging on whether or not their requests will be funded.
That’s because the governor chose to forego earmarking money for any of the $2.9 billion in requests for over 550 individual county and city projects this time around. Instead, Walz shunted lump sum allocations to various state agencies to be distributed through grant and loan programs. Agencies, not Walz, will prioritize local government projects for funding, and with nearly $2 billion more in requests than the total Walz proposed for the capital budget, a large number of requests are certain to go unfunded.
The only local government request submitted from the North Country came from the city of Tower on behalf of the Tower Breitung Wastewater Board, a request for $3 million for upgrades to the water treatment facility. Tower and other communities with water treatment projects will now have to direct their requests to the Public Facilities Authority, which would have $60 million from Walz’s proposal allocated for clean water project grants, and $39 million more in loan capacity, all funded through general obligation bonds.
State facilities
The largest single area allocation in Walz’s proposal is for renewal and maintenance of state facilities, which he touted as a key aspect of a safe, healthy, and fiscally responsible budget. With an investment exceeding $440 million, the plan focuses on the upkeep of taxpayer-owned buildings, including nearly $206 million for repairs and renovations at Minnesota State and the University of Minnesota facilities.
“Forty-five percent of the resources in this package would go towards fixing and improving existing facilities,” said Erin Campbell, commissioner of the Minnesota Management and Budget office. “Included in this category is $387 million dollars for asset preservation for state agency and higher education facilities and infrastructure. Last year’s bonding bill had a lot to be proud of including major investments in new infrastructure. With those needs addressed, this is a year to focus on reinvesting in taking care of the state properties that taxpayers already own. The state has a building portfolio with an average age of 42 years. The largest and most expensive of all asset renewal projects tend to occur when a building is over 30 years old. As a result, significant funds need to be invested in preserving what we already have to serve Minnesotans for many years to come.”
Campbell noted that the funds aren’t exclusively targeted for buildings, saying that the Department of Natural Resources will get a portion of the funds to use for refurbishing park roads and bridges.
“We need to invest in these assets now to begin to address the $6.4 billion in deferred maintenance of state infrastructure. Investing in our facilities is the fiscally responsible thing to do,” Campbell said.
Public safety
More than $142 million has been designated for public safety initiatives. This funding will expand laboratory and investigation capabilities of the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and support the planning of a new Minnesota State Patrol headquarters. Additionally, $47 million is included to develop infrastructure for rehabilitative programming and educational spaces in prisons. And $81 million has been designated for repair of state correctional facilities, a need Department of Corrections Commissioner Paul Schnell addressed at Tuesday’s news conference.
“As many people know, our facilities range in age from 125 years on the oldest side and the newest facility is pushing 30 years old,” Schnell said. “The needs are profound. That’s about ten percent of the deferred maintenance needs the department has.”
Two regional office facilities for the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, including an existing office in Bemidji and a new office and laboratory in Mankato, have been tagged for a combined $52 million in Walz’s proposal, $22.4 million has been allocated for design and land acquisition for a new State Patrol Headquarters building.
“This is about charting the future of the Minnesota State Patrol,” said State Patrol Chief Colonel Matt Langer. “We currently, in our metropolitan area, work out of six different office spaces. That’s about as fragmented and disjointed as you can get. Given the pressures that we have today, and what Minnesota needs out of the State Patrol, as we look toward the future, we see tremendous value in bringing those six fragmented, segmented sections together to gain efficiency, to gain synergy, and to gain additional accountability.”
Housing
Walz’s proposal allocates $97 million for housing and environmental improvements. Over half of that is reserved for housing infrastructure bonds to aid in developing multifamily housing for the homeless, seniors, and families. This plan also includes more than $16 million for renovations at the Minneapolis Veterans Home to enhance resident care.
Other infrastructure
About $85 million has been tagged for investment in the many diverse infrastructure needs across Minnesota. This encompasses $40 million for local government project requests that ranged from community centers and sporting facilities to libraries and economic development initiatives $5 million has been earmarked for grants for constructing and renovating early childhood facilities.
While a November forecast projected a $2.4 billion surplus for the upcoming year, tighter economic times are on the horizon, as spending is projected to exceed revenue for fiscal year 2026-27. Walz said that given last year’s $2.6 billion bonding package, the state should take on a smaller list of projects this year.
Legislators will weigh in on Walz’s proposal when the new legislative session begins next month, and will undoubtedly haggle over numerous items, as neither party has enough votes to unilaterally pass the proposal with the three-fifths required support from each chamber.
Senate Capital Investment Committee Chair Sandra Pappas, DFL-St. Paul, has warned that the legislature won’t be able to please everyone.
“We have a huge backlog for infrastructure needs, you know, roads, bridges, wastewater, clean water in particular. And I think that it’s going to be difficult for the state to meet all those needs, and take care of state buildings,” she said.
Republican Sen. Karin Housley, of Stillwater, said she was disappointed that Walz’s proposal was skewed more toward state agencies and away from local requests.