Dear Friends and Neighbors,
Chisago Lakes FFA Chapter Came To Visit
Our local FFA Chapter from Chisago Lakes High School came to visit on Thursday, February 26 as part of National FFA Week. What a great group of students! They are a great reminder of how important agriculture education is as part of our K-12 education. The students brought with them their FFA #ForeverBlue twitter hashtag!
February Revenue Forecast
On Friday, the February forecast was released which legislators and the governor will use as the base for their budget for FY 2016-17. The November forecast projected a $1 billion surplus, which has now been revised substantially upward to $1.9 billion.
According to the Office of Minnesota Management and Budget, the surplus grew by $832 million largely because of higher tax collections as well as slightly reduced projected spending.
While a surplus is much better than the $6 billion dollar deficit I inherited in my first year in office back in 2011, it also means that we collected too much from taxpayers over the last year. I’m hoping that agreement can be reached to return this money to Minnesotans in the form of tax relief.
The House will be releasing their budget targets for House committees in the coming weeks, and it is also expected that Governor Dayton will release revised budget recommendations based on this new information.
Barrett Nursing Home Bill in committee next week
Next week, the Aging and Long-Term Care Committee will be hearing a bill I authored, HF 730. If signed into law, this legislation would positively impact nursing homes in Chisago County as well as Mille Lacs, Isanti and Kanabec Counties.
The bill would increase the nursing home reimbursement rate in these counties to match the metro area reimbursement. Three quarters of the money from that increase will go toward compensation related to costs for nursing facility employees. This ability to offer increased pay will help with employee retention and recruitment, benefitting the hardworking people in this field as well as the aging adults residing in these facilities.
In Chisago County, too many nursing homes are unable to fill job openings because of the lower pay rate compared to the metro. This is about fair funding for our nursing homes and ensuring that we can attract the best quality workers to take care of our seniors.
I am pleased that this bill is receiving a hearing and will continue to work for fair nursing home funding in our county and communities across the state.
If you have any comments about nursing homes, the budget surplus, FFA or other important subjects, I welcome you to contact me or my office.
Sincerely,
Bob