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Since President Donald Trump took office, cuts to federal spending are an ongoing question for local governments. So what cuts can we expect to see in West St. Paul? Trees and trauma response are the only specific cuts cited so far, though officials at all levels are waiting to see what’s next.
City-Level Cuts
West St. Paul secured a grant through Tree Trust from the Arbor Day Foundation to plant 700 trees over the next two years.
- Source: The Inflation Reduction Act awarded the Arbor Day Foundation $50 million and West St. Paul was part of a recent subaward to address urban forestry.
- Why trees: Trees have multiple benefits including cooling, reducing energy costs, reducing pollution, and increasing home values.
- Why cut: Trump’s efforts to end diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs targeted “environmental justice” work in disadvantaged communities where trees are needed most.
- Context: The City of West St. Paul plants roughly 40 trees per year, so 700 over two years would have been a significant investment. Thanks in part to emerald ash borer decimating ash trees, West St. Paul’s tree canopy percentage has dropped to 39.3% according to Met Council numbers from 2021. That’s 3% below the regional average and 5% below the recommended average.
Other projects: The city has a number of other projects with federal funding, but so far trees are the only specific program that’s been cut. Other city projects with federal funding including the Smith/Dodd realignment, COPS grant (pays a portion of wages for two police officers), police officer mental health grant, active shooter training grant, and a FEMA SAFER grant with South Metro Fire all appear to be safe for now.
Other funding: West St. Paul will also miss out on $1.8 million in federal funding to create an opioid response and education team with South Metro Fire. U.S. Rep. Angie Craig worked to include this funding in the House budget, but it didn’t survive the reconciliation process that included $13 billion in cuts.
School District-Level Cuts
“At this time, we are monitoring the situation closely and have not received any formal notifications of reductions in federal funding for ISD 197,” said ISD 197 Superintendent Peter Olson-Skog. “However, we are concerned about proposed eliminations to programs that support the educator pipeline—such as teacher training grants to colleges and universities—especially given the ongoing national teacher shortage.”
Olson-Skog also noted most federal funding—amounting to about $6 million for the district—cannot be reduced or eliminated without an act of Congress.
The bigger budget challenge for ISD 197 will be the state, which faces its own cuts and uncertainty from the federal level that could trickle down.
County-Level Cuts
The federal government cut $11 billion in health funding, which amounts to $226 million in cuts for the Minnesota Department of Health, which will trickle down to Dakota County. They canceled a $225,000 contract with Greenleaf Integrative Strategies to help Dakota County Public Health become a trauma responsive department.
“A trauma-responsive approach helps ensure that services don’t unintentionally cause harm and are more effective and compassionate—especially for vulnerable populations,” explained Dakota County Commissioner Joe Atkins.
At this time, Dakota County isn’t aware of other cuts, though there could be ancillary impacts, such as lease cancellation for a USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service building in South St. Paul.
State-Level Cuts
Federal cuts will impact the state budget the most, including that $226 million in health cuts (currently blocked by a federal judge). Federal funds make up more than a third of Minnesota’s state budget.
Governor Tim Walz is telling state agencies to plan as if all federal funding will be cut: “The worst is yet to come,” he said in a Star Tribune article.
Other Impacts
Federal funding to local governments isn’t the only place where cuts are happening. Laid off federal workers will also have an impact, though there’s no sense of how deep those cuts go.
- There are an estimated 18,000 federal workers in Minnesota.
- Reports vary on the size of the layoffs, from 30,000 to 60,000 out of a total workforce of over 3 million. Though the layoffs are being challenged in court and may be reversed.
- The Reformer talked to three fired federal workers in Minnesota.
- A local federal worker spoke at a recent SD 53 townhall, describing a chaotic, fired-by-email approach that was then rescinded, leaving his job in limbo.
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