1. Thisweek reports Old Chicago in Apple Valley will be competing with Anthony’s Parkway Grille and the Burnsville Performing Arts Center for those interested in seeing comedy. A couple of comedians will be at the restaurant and tickets are $30 for Friday and Saturday shows and include dinner.

I like restaurants offering stuff like this but I have to wonder how it will impact the various arts centers around town which should be hosting these events, including food, on a regular basis. With private enterprise doing this do we really need to have city run facilities doing it too?

2. Several sources (Star Tribune, Thisweek, WCCO, and Pioneer Press) report a robbery at a Burnsville Jimmy John’s. Police are looking for suspects and looking for anyone with information to come forward.

The photo provided in the papers show a man clearly talking on a mobile phone moments before pulling a gun. What I don’t understand is why the Burnsville Police Department could not have solved this case hours later with the tower records. Seriously, how many calls went through the towers in town during that narrow band of time? It really brings into question how the Burnsville City Council’s cutbacks have affected the safety of Burnsville, its residents and those that work in the city.

3. Thisweek brings word of the possibility of a $60,000 sculpture going in at the Rosemount library if the City Council approves the expenditure.

I have a great idea for a feature at the Rosemount library. How about a $60,000 set of shelves and books–you know what libraries are meant to house. Silly me, I thought libraries were for sharing books, doing research, and studying. My bad.

4. The Star Tribune reports ISD 191 is looking at more inventive ways to drive up enrollment at schools that need a boost including offering incentives to get parents to move their kids such as:

The incentives could include deeply discounted all-day kindergarten. Rahn also could offer an extended school year or day, and the district may give the school extra money to create a special focus to attract families.

I’ve recently heard the frustrations of an ISD 196 parent who is disappointed in the high fees for band, all day kindergarten and the like and mentioned to me that it’s probably only going to get worse and that they’re sure I’m going to absolutely love what I have to pay when my kid hits that age. I can’t wait.

5. According to this Dakota County Criminal Complaint, a woman who was just trying to scare her husband accidentally stabbed him in the leg and now is in Dakota County Jail on $25,000 bail.

I wonder if I could have had my wife sent to jail for the time when she cut my leg after breaking a wine glass in a bed and breakfast whirlpool tub? She definitely scared me and scarred me ;-)

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That’s all for this week’s roundup. I’d like to hear your thoughts on the Rosemount library sculpture. What would you rather see money be spent on: what is likely a good number of research/reading materials or a sculpture? While I’m mainly interested in that topic feel free to discuss any of those listed above or even add a few of your own!

According to both the Star Tribune and Thisweek, Dakota County is running into some serious budget issues due to lowered housing values and the ever rising health-care costs of county employees. Plans include leaving empty positions vacant, not rehiring to fill vacancies caused by separation, and even the eventual cuts of county programs if necessary.

According to the Star Tribune article:

Based on continuation of current coverage, the estimated county share of employee health benefits, paid for by the county levy, would rise from $15.1 million in 2010 to $25.7 million by 2015.

That trend, coupled with potential future declines in state aid, would put a squeeze on county levy money — $128.4 million in 2010 — that is used to fund typical county programs and expenses.

Excuse me? Why are we paying that much for these people’s benefits again? Oh, because they’re unionized employees and they’ll threaten a strike. Oh no! It’s time for the county to very politely tell the Union where they can put their desire for a 1+% raise for their members. Did these people forget that plenty of others are out of work nationwide and that many of those that still have jobs took pay cuts and still have to pay for their benefits? If they haven’t forgotten then I’m a quite confused as to why they are even trying to approach this subject when the county is facing program cuts. It’s not like you’re going to have a job when they cut your program after all.

But the Union doesn’t want taxpayers to foot this bill now, no, they have suggested to the county that it use a fund of about $33 million which is currently set aside and not designated to pay for anything. What better way to weather the storm, created in part by the Union itself, but to tap into reserves and then cause the taxpayers future headaches when really important budget issues arise, right?

According to Thisweek, the county’s Finance Director said:

…the fund would rapidly deplete if it was spent on “wage increases that carry on forever in the future.”

Now, I realize that the Union’s only obligations are to its members and the county and its taxpayers be damned but I would love for someone to just simply state, “No, you’re not getting a raise and you should be glad it’s not massive layoffs and/or furloughs caused by your greedy behavior. Oh and if you want to strike feel free, no one will have any sympathy for you and there will be long lines of unemployed workers begging for a few weeks work while you get strike pay and three or four honks of support as you walk the picket line in pointless defiance.” Ahh, only in a perfect world.

So what do you think about this plan? Should the county even consider caving to the desires of the union and offer its employees a pay raise to cover their rising health care costs while tapping a reserve fund, possibly for years into the future if the economy does not recover, or should they tell them to pound sand? Whatever you think about Dakota County’s financial woes and the union’s insistence on procuring pay raises for its employees during the worst economic times many of us have ever seen, go ahead and comment on as I’d love to hear your thoughts.