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Boundary lines being examined
By Cathy Kropp
Some government officials believe that having St. Cloud divided into three counties is a waste of money and resources.
State Rep. Joe Opatz recently sent out a memo addressing the issue in which he stated that this problem has been discussed each of the 12 years he has been in the legislature.
"We are a rapidly growing community and there have been ongoing discussions about this for a long time," Opatz said.
Opatz said that many of the services offered by each county could be condensed, as many programs are duplicated in each county and suffer from weaknesses caused by the boundary lines.
One example that Opatz cites in his memo is that of the jurisdictional boundaries that the police departments have to comply with. Opatz explains that if someone was arrested on the southeast side of St. Cloud within Benton County, they are not taken to the Stearns County courthouse, which is visible from that neighborhood, but instead are taken to the Benton County seat located in Foley.
Opatz states that if the arrest had instead taken place just two blocks south of the above example, the person would be taken to the Sherburne County seat, which is a 30-minute drive to Elk River.
Opatz has conducted surveys and scientific samplings in the area and his results show that the majority of those who replied didn't think the current arrangement of the government boundaries make sense and they are willing to consider alternatives.
"The population in general is open (to change)," Opatz said. "The difficulty is moving the political structure."
St. Cloud Mayor John Ellenbecker agrees that getting the counties to discuss changes has been difficult. Ellenbecker said that the city has been eager to look at opportunities that would present themselves with the re-drawing of the boundaries but the separate counties have been unwilling to seriously consider the issue. Ellenbecker believes that this reluctance can be explained by looking at the issue from the counties' perspective.
"If lines were re-drawn, the counties would have to deal with a reallocated tax base and the removal of the power and authority of each individual county."
There are numerous inconsistencies at the county level, one example involving the social services program.
Ellenbecker said that the social service program, as it is currently set up, is very inconvenient for Somali residents. For those who live west of the river, services are set up in Stearns County. In Stearns, there is a regular schedule with interpreters available. Those who live across the river have to travel to Foley to receive services and there are no interpreters available for them. Ellenbecker also notes how some of these people live in Benton, which is a short distance from the Stearns office, but are required to travel to the Foley location instead because of boundary restrictions.
Although neither Ellenbecker or Opatz are making any concrete suggestions for change at this point, they both agree that something needs to change.
Ellenbecker believes that the problem needs to be thoroughly evaluated for a solution to become apparent.
"I am advocating that a study or academic exercise be done to identify the benefits and problems (of the current system)," Ellenbecker said. "If we did a study, we would be in a better position to evaluate the situation."
Opatz hopes to hear from the community on what they believe are viable solutions.
Some of the ideas presented to him include creating a new county that would incorporate everyone in the immediate St. Cloud area, or having regional services such as mass transit and schools be under regional governance.
Opatz said, while he is not proposing any specific solutions at this point, he is planning on making suggestions at the next legislative session, which is scheduled to begin in February.
"If I don't see action, then I'll step forward with ideas that I think make sense," Opatz said.
The budget crunch may play a major role in any decisions that are made.
"When dollars are scarce, we need to look at opportunities presented to us to save money," Ellenbecker said.
Since the governor is currently pushing the issue of the budget shortfall, Opatz believes that this may be the opportunity to move this idea along.
"Instead of complaining, we need to organize ourselves to deliver the same services at a less costly level."
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