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State Rep. Keith Allen briefs Goodhue County on bonding, wastewater and new inspector general office
Summary
State Rep. Keith Allen (House District 19A) updated the Goodhue County Board on the recently completed legislative session, highlighting a passed budget, a limited bonding bill focused on roads and bridges, funding protections for cities and counties, SSIS technology upgrades and a push for a statewide Office of Inspector General to address fraud.
Rep. Keith Allen, state representative for House District 19A, told the Goodhue County Board of Commissioners that this year’s legislative session produced a bipartisan budget, a “skinny” bonding bill and several measures aimed at protecting local government funding.
Allen, a longtime resident of the Wanamingo Canyon area, said the bonding bill the Legislature passed focused largely on state projects such as roads and bridges and did not include many smaller local projects. He said wastewater treatment and clean-water systems are emerging priorities for many outstate communities and that a larger bonding effort next session will target those needs.
“Wastewater treatment plants and clean water delivery systems are huge, huge, huge issues for a lot of communities,” Allen said, describing them as a bottleneck for housing and economic growth in some towns. He said the state bonding committees plan tours to build support for local wastewater projects.
Allen also said the Legislature approved upgrades to the SSIS technology system and that he has heard from Goodhue County officials about slow performance and the need for substantial improvements. He said lawmakers intend to move quickly on those upgrades.
A second priority Allen described was creation of a statewide Office of Inspector General (OIG) intended to centralize reports of suspected waste, fraud and abuse and to enable more proactive front-end oversight. Allen said senators from both parties agreed on the OIG to provide a single reporting mechanism for agency employees and others who spot irregularities.
“I’m hopeful the OIG will standardize where agencies can report and allow us to stop problems on the front side instead of trying to recoup dollars on the backside,” Allen said. He raised a related concern about whether federal agencies will demand repayment of funds the state recovers, which could shift costs back to Minnesota taxpayers.
On federal funding, Allen said the state is still assessing potential reductions to human services and public-health programs and whether the state will provide county-level buffers. He said many impacts could unfold over two to three years and that legislators are still gathering information from communities.
Allen closed by offering his contact information and encouraging commissioners to call with local concerns he could raise at the Capitol.
Allen’s remarks occurred during the meeting’s public update segment and were followed by questions from county officials about the OIG, SSIS and wastewater constraints.
