Federal Government Shutdown
In January the Federal Government shutdown threatened the county’s housing stability. It was possible that federal payments for rent subsidies would stop. Many families depend upon the subsidies for housing. If the payments would have stopped it was possible that many of those families could have faced eviction. The affordable housing system is also dependent on private landlords who work with the county. If the payments were to stop, those private landlords, who depend on rental payments to pay their mortgages, would also have been placed in jeopardy. Maintaining the cooperation of private landlords to provide housing is an important element in providing affordable housing to Olmsted County families. The partial shutdown in January threatened this private/public relationship. I supported the county’s decision to be prepared to loan funds from the housing account to make the rental payments if the shutdown would have continued. I supported this stopgap measure to maintain the housing stability but also to reassure the private landlords. As it turned out, the shutdown ended and funding is in the process of being restored.
Olmsted County is a Loser in State Funding: Major State Aids/Credits Returned per $1 State Tax
| County | Amount Returned |
| Houston | $2.22 |
| Mower | $1.49 |
| Waseca | $1.45 |
| Dodge | $1.26 |
| Fillmore | $1.26 |
| Freeborn | $1.25 |
| Wabasha | $1.12 |
| Rice | $1.08 |
| Steele | $1.01 |
| Winona | $1.01 |
| Goodhue | $0.94 |
| Olmsted | $0.72 |
Source: Minnesota House Research Department report https://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/hrd/pubs/msa2017.pdf
On January 25, The County Board met with the State Legislators who represent Olmsted County at the Capitol. One of the items of discussion was the return of tax dollars to Olmsted County.
The chart above shows the return of State Funding. I am concerned that only $.72 from every tax dollar sent to the State is returned to Olmsted County. I will continue to work our state legislators to change this tax return scheme so that Olmsted County can fund our own projects rather sending tax money to other counties to fund their projects.