A special council meeting has been scheduled for Monday, August 23 at 7:00 p.m. to solicit public comments on the City’s 2011 budget. This is in advance of the City Council establishing the City’s preliminary 2011 property tax levy and well in advance of the formal public hearing held in early December.

The City has experienced significant reductions in state aid and the Mayor and Council have set a goal of achieving a balanced budget without any state aid by the year 2015. This represents a decrease of just over $2 million dollars over the next four years or 20% of the General Fund budget, $500,000 in 2011. The General Fund’s operations cover most basic city services including police, fire, public works, community development, parks and recreation, library and administration.

Given the size of the reduction, all services will be affected to some extent. The Mayor and Council want to know not only what services are important to you, but also what level of service is acceptable. Would you be willing to pay higher taxes to maintain service levels? Would you be willing to pay additional fees and charges? Are you willing to accept reductions in hours of service at City facilities or longer response times?

The 2010 City budget is available on the City’s website and at the Library. The budget document provides details on the various city departments and what services are provided. Read up on it and bring your ideas to the forum.

The format of the public forum will be as follows:

• City staff will make a brief presentation on the current status of the 2011 Budget development and review of the 2011 Budget Policy approved by Council.

• Groups or individuals in attendance are encouraged to address the Council and will be given up to four (4) minutes. City Councilors will then have the opportunity to ask the presenter additional questions to clarify the recommendation.

• Once all formal presentations by groups or individuals have been made, the Mayor will lead an interactive Q&A with the audience and council members on specific budget issues

For more information, go to the city’s web site and click on the notice of the public hearing.

Here is the basic information you need to know about a run for office:

Northfield City Council:
Seats open –1st Ward, 4th Ward,  one at-large seat – all 4-year terms of office
Place to file – Northfield City Hall, 801WashingtonSt.
Filing fee – $5
Primary – On Aug. 10, if more than 2 people file for one seat.

Rice County Commissioners:
Seats open – District 2, which includes most of Northfield, and   District 4, Faribault – both 4-year terms of office
Place to file – Rice County Government Building, 329 NW 3rd St., Faribault
Filing fee – $50
Primary – On Aug. 10, if more than 2 people file for the open seat.

“All are invited to attend,” Dahle said. “Hearing the ideas and opinions of the people from our community is invaluable in helping us to better represent our area.”

Those who are interested in 2010 legislative activities but who cannot attend a town hall meeting are encouraged to contact Dahle at:sen.kevin.dahle@senate.mn or 651-296-1279; or Bly at rep.david.bly@house.mn or 651-296-7065.

Randy Jennings has been commissioned by the city to lead the educational efforts and will conduct the tour on Monday. The public is welcome to take this opportunity to learn more about the present condition of this important city facility. For more information, call Jane McWilliams (645-8423).

Presentation by:

David Bly

Minnesota State Representative and Bill Co-sponsor
“We have one of the most expensive health care systems in the world and yet many people are just not able to receive the benefit of it.＂

Thursday, March 5th, at 7:30pm

St. Olaf College, Holland Hall 501

Karen Gervais, Professor of Ethics at St Olaf College and Director, Minnesota Center for Health Care Ethics, will lead a discussion on Thursday,  February 5th at 7:00 pm, at St. John’s Hall, 500 West Third Street, on the preliminary report for the Minnesota Pandemic Ethics Project.    Sponsored by the St. John’s Lutheran Church  Peace and Justice Group this discussion is free and open to the public.  All interested persons are invited.

The focus of the discussion will be on the ethics of how to ration health care in a time of very limited supply.  On Thursday,   Dr. Gervais will focus on  antivirals, one resource discussed within the report. The frameworks developed by this project group have applications to other aspects of Health Care where limited resources are available and the demand exceeds supply.

The draft report, funded by the Minnesota Department of Health  and released in late October, is the collaboration of the Minnesota Center for Health Care Ethics and the University of Minnesota Center for Bioethics.

The study was prompted in response to  warnings by experts that  “a worldwide outbreak of a respiratory virus is inevitable”  and that  “Severe pandemics raise unique and particularly difficult challenges, so it is prudent to prepare and plan for one.”

“Unlike other disasters, states and communities cannot count on receiving federal assistance in a severe pandemic.  Health-related resources will be particularly important public health tools, and must be managed and distributed to best serve Minnesotans’ common good.”     Recognizing that supplies will be limited,  the preliminary report contains  “proposed ethical frameworks for rationing antiviral medications, N95 respirators, surgical masks, vaccines and mechanical ventilators.”

Consideration of  the topic raises many important questions in ethical issues:
–Should some individuals and some groups have prioritized access to certain resources:  If so, why?
–Should resources like vaccines go to those at greatest risk of dying from the flu even if they may not respond as well to vaccines as others?
–Should resources be used to protect persons who are taking risks to help others, because they are contributing to everyone’s survival – whether they are irreplaceable workers at a power plant, health care workers caring for flu victims, or volunteers delivering Meals on Wheels”
–Should resources be given first to children, because they cannot fend for themselves, they are society’s future, and society is responsible for their welfare?
–Should patients be removed from ventilators so that others more likely to benefit can be given a chance at survival?

Ethical guidance is needed to help answer such wrenching questions.    Come and add your input  to this public discussion, the first of many planned around  the state.

For an electronic copy of the entire report, contact Char Carlson at carlsoncharbill@msn.com

Hi All,
There will be a rally January 5th, 2009 from 11am to 1pm for the Minnesota
Health Plan at the St. Paul Capitol. This is a single payer bill that will
be introduced again in the 2009 legislative session. Attached is a flyer
for the event.

Get the word out to others about this rally. This is an opportunity to show
our support for health coverage reform to our state legislators. Anyone
interested in car pooling to the Capital let Joan or me know.

Regards,
Steve & Joan Janusz
1515 ParMeadow Dr.
Northfield, MN 55057
507-645-0094
sjanusz@charter.net
jjanusz@charter.net