County might cut back on organizations’ wish lists

As McLeod County officials prepare a preliminary 2009 budget, they’re keeping looming state-imposed limits in mind.

At a County Board budget workshop Wednesday (Aug. 6), Commissioner Sheldon Nies said organizations such as the Southwest Minnesota Arts and Humanities Council and Southwest Initiative Foundation should not expect their annual allocations to grow by more than the 3.9 percent levy limit effective next year.

The levy limit for McLeod County might actually be smaller than 3.9 percent, but the state won’t issue the final figure before Aug. 15.

While several of the organizations the county usually supports asked for no allocation increase in 2009, five of them asked for double-digit bumps.

For instance, the McLeod Alliance for Victims of Domestic Violence asked for a 25-percent increase from $8,000 in 2008 to $10,000 in 2009. The Southwest Initiative Foundation asked for a 75-percent increase from $6,000 in 2008 to $10,470.

Speaking of the latter, Nies said, “We’re not going to do that. I would love to do more. They bring a lot to our area.”

For more on this story, see the Leader's Aug. 12 print edition.

(Jorge Sosa is a staff writer for the Hutchinson Leader. He can be reached at sosa@hutchinsonleader.com)