State officials have two words for Minnesotans anxious to have their government up and running again: Be patient.

And even if legislators manage to pass a dozen bills overnight and Gov. Mark Dayton signs them into law, "it seems unlikely [state employees will come back tomorrow," Jim Schowalter, Dayton's management and budget commissioner, said Tuesday.

The reason, he said, is that even after a bill becomes law, it takes a day for money to be appropriated so it can be spent.

"Just because a bill is passed, it doesn't mean that agencies are up and running," Schowalter said. "We're asking your understanding because offices may or may not be available immediately."

In many cases, agencies should be operating in a matter of days, he said.

"We're planning to get back as soon as we can," said Tina Smith, Dayton's chief of staff. "The goal here is really to restore government as smoothly and quickly as we can."

Smith and Schowalter had no definite answers about the timing for restarting specific government functions, as in when parks will reopen, how quickly a variety of state licences will be available or when such state-regulated businesses as the Canterbury Park racetrack will reopen.

Road construction projects will take the longest to restart, Schowalter said, "probably a period of weeks."

Dayton plans to sign all of the bills at once, instead of piecemeal as they reach his desk, Smith said, not because of any mistrust of the Republican-led Legislature, but, quoting her boss, "we need one budget for one Minnesota." She added, "we have trust and confidence in this process."

Employees will be given 24-hour recall notices, telling them when to return to work. The most current information, for both employees and taxpayers, will be on the state's website that has served as the repository of shutdown news: www.bereadymn.com

"We're just going to play this by ear and work as fast as we can," Schowalter said.

Officials haven't yet been able to calculate the total cost of the shutdown, he said.