PawletyUnlugged

Facts about Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty
Text Box: PAWLENTY’S PERSONAL STAFF GREW 2X THE RATE OF OTHER STATE SPENDING This website previously explained how Governor Pawlenty claimed that he cut the size of state government, when it really grew on his watch. It has now been revealed that Governor Pawlenty’s personal office has grown at twice the rate of other state agencies and that the Governor has tried to hide this by having state agencies, rather than his office, pay his staff. Here’s the article from the April 1, 2006 Pioneer Press entitled, “Subsidies boost office budget, Analysis, requested by Senate DFLer, says agencies pay $700,000 a year,” with certain passages highlighted: State agencies are subsidizing Gov. Tim Pawlenty's office budget by about $700,000 a year, according to a new analysis of agreements negotiated between the governor and the agencies he oversees. The money has allowed Pawlenty's budget to grow at nearly twice the rate of comparable state spending over the current two-year budget cycle. A top Senate Democrat said she might conduct a hearing on the agency payments that are allowing the governor's budget to grow. Brian McClung, a Pawlenty spokesman, did not dispute that the Republican governor's budget is growing by 14.6 percent. But McClung said Friday that Pawlenty runs a frugal operation and that his spending is justified by the size and scope of the state government that he leads. "This is completely done in the open," McClung said of the agreements under which 20 state agencies -- from agriculture to veterans affairs -- pay part or all of the salaries of nine top aides to Pawlenty and the full cost of a two-person staff in Washington, D.C. "The Legislature has been fully aware of and accepting of this arrangement." McClung refused to say how Pawlenty planned to spend the additional money he has gained through the salary subsidies, except to say: "It's being used for personnel costs." The review of the so-called "interagency transfers" boosting Pawlenty's budget was conducted by a nonpartisan Senate fiscal analyst at the request of state Sen. Sheila Kiscaden. "I asked for this because there seemed to be a growing pattern of transferring costs from the governor's office to the agencies," said Kiscaden, a Rochester Democrat who is chairwoman of the Senate's state government budget division of the Finance Committee. Kiscaden said she did not object to Pawlenty's budget maneuvers but wants to know what he's doing with the money. "I'll probably hold a hearing and ask the governor's staff to come in and explain what he has done with these discretionary funds," she said. "I think the governor has some explaining to do in view of the fact that we have very tight budgets." There is nothing illegal or improper about the agreements under which state agencies pay part of Pawlenty's staff salaries. Other governors have used them, and there is a procedure written into law requiring the governor to disclose them to lawmakers. Pawlenty also has fewer total staff members, including those whose salaries are partially paid by the agencies, than the two governors who preceded him. He currently has 41.9 full-time-equivalent staffers. A year ago, Pawlenty's staff compared his payroll with former Govs. Arne Carlson and Jesse Ventura at a comparable point in their administrations: Pawlenty had about five fewer full-time-equivalent employees than either of the previous governors. But Pawlenty is relying on the state agencies to help pay for his staff to a significantly greater extent than either Ventura or Carlson did. The analysis of the agreements, many of which were not in place prior to October, was conducted for Kiscaden by Kevin Lundeen, a fiscal analyst. Lundeen calculated the total value of the agreements at just under $1.4 million over the current biennium. He did not attempt to compare the growth in Pawlenty's budget with growth elsewhere in state government. But the Pioneer Press -- with assistance from the state Finance Department -- calculated that Pawlenty's gubernatorial budget, including the agency payments, is scheduled to grow 14.6 percent over two years. That compares with average spending growth of 7.7 percent for a number of comparable state agencies, including the Legislature and Minnesota's other top elected officials. The Legislature's spending is budgeted to grow 8 percent. Budgets for the auditor, attorney general and secretary of state are declining or growing very slightly. In 2003, Pawlenty's first year as governor, he proposed eliminating funding the governor's office previously had provided for Minnesota's Washington operation. Instead, state agencies that rely on the Washington staff to coordinate state and federal activities picked up the cost. The budget for that office is $522,000 over two years. More recently Pawlenty has negotiated agreements calling for state agencies to pay half the salaries of six other gubernatorial aides, designated "senior policy advisors," who work closely with agencies and sometimes speak for them in legislative committees. Under another agreement, the Transportation Department began paying 65 percent of Lt. Gov. Carol Molnau's salary in October. Molnau serves as transportation commissioner as well as lieutenant governor. The Education Department pays 100 percent of the salary of an education adviser to Pawlenty, and three departments combine to pay 100 percent of the salary of former state Rep. Eric Lipman, who represents Pawlenty on sex offender issues. The agencies now contribute about $883,000 per biennium for salaries in Pawlenty's office. Kiscaden had been the running mate of wealthy developer Kelly Doran, a DFL candidate for governor until he withdrew from the race March 24. She said she didn't raise questions about Pawlenty's budget earlier because "I didn't want this to get caught up in gubernatorial electoral politics." Kiscaden's counterpart in the House, Republican state Rep. Marty Seifert of Marshall, the chairman of the House State Government Finance Committee, said he was satisfied that Pawlenty was not abusing the interagency agreements. "My comfort level is fine right now," Seifert said of the subsidy the agencies provide to Pawlenty's budget. "But if it goes above and beyond this we're going to have to have some discussion."