City prepares for possible state shutdown
Originally published June 27, 2011
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.
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.
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 toSession Daily, reached consensus on a number of issues including state government finance, K-12 education, transportation, public safety, jobs and economic development.