MAPE Asked to Help Solve Budget Impasse

Looking for ways to solve the current budget deficit impasse, legislative leaders asked MAPE late Saturday night to testify about the cost-saving measures MAPE recently proposed.

The DFL proposal included $169 million in spending reductions outlined by MAPE two weeks ago.

Around midnight on Saturday night, MAPE Legislative Affairs Director Richard Kolodziejski was called to testify in the Legislative Commission on Planning and Fiscal Policy. Kolodziejski explained where the savings would come from and how the state could go about collecting uncollected revenues.

MAPE was directly identified multiple times as the source of the cost-saving suggestions.

The package of cost-savings was first presented to the state as part of contract negotiations. Facts gathered as part of this process were used to show, for example, that furloughs would actually cost the state money. This information helped MAPE to push back against state attempts to force us off our jobs and helped us to reach a contract agreement with the state that was later unanimously supported by our board of directors.

Following negotiations, we decided to share what we learned with the legislature. 348 MAPE members contacted their legislators laying out in detail how the state could save millions of dollars. These claims were backed up by an extensive PDF document showing exactly where the dollars could be found.

On May 5th, MAPE held a press conference at the Capitol laying out the cost-savings ideas for the media. This garnered significant media attention, including a thorough report on KARE 11. 

Stay tuned for more information about how MAPE is working to solve the budget crisis.