Hot Dish Politics: Aid to small town could forestall bankruptcy

Buried in an arcane tax bill sitting on the governor's desk is $12,000 of salvation for the tiny town of Tamarack.

The Aitkin County town is having steep financial problems after installing a new sewer system.

To help pay Tamarack's share, city leaders took out a $60,000 loan. That's a giant sum to a town with a $23,000 annual budget.

"It's been a big toll on the city," said Mayor Randy Wyttenback. "It's been rough."

When Wyttenback took over in January, he was stunned to learn the city had just $1,500 in the bank.

"We were down to scratching pennies together," he said.

Located 53 miles west of Duluth, Tamarack has only 59 residents. It does not have a police officer or a firefighter. Wyttenback's sister was the clerk until she went back to college. He is paid just $40 a month.

Small-town elections aren't always steeped in divisive local issues. But with the city nearly out of money and residents stinging from monthly assessments to pay for the sewer project, the campaign split the city in two.

Wyttenback and former Mayor Robert Johnson deadlocked at 12 votes apiece.

A coin toss settled the race.

Wyttenback said that the city is really in a bind and that there has been serious talk of declaring bankruptcy.

"I am just trying to get the city cleaned up, and get some of the money back from this project," he said.

McElfatrick told a House committee that many of the town's residents are delinquent in their assessments, putting an extra squeeze on the city budget.

So legislators slipped a line into the tax bill that would boost the city's state aid for a year to give Tamarack officials time to get caught up.

House Taxes Committee Chairman Greg Davids, who is generally not excited about boosting state aid contributions to cities, immediately defended the one-time financial bump as essential. "It will keep them out of bankruptcy," said Davids, R-Preston, after a recent hearing.

"It's nice to hear we might get the money," Wyttenback said.

The mayor said Tamarack doesn't have grand plans if it gets the money. City leaders plan to shore up the budget, put some money into a tattered park and finish a couple of road improvements.

The fate of the money now rests with DFL Gov. Mark Dayton, who has a few days to consider the bill, which passed with bipartisan support.

Dayton has long been a supporter of aid to cities, but he doesn't like how the bill takes from some communities and gives it to others.