In July, I blogged about some significant positive changes that are occuring in Hennepin County regarding out-of-home placement issues for juvenile offenders. I thought it would make sense to post a positive award each month to bookend the monthly Golden Fire Hydrant award. Good things do happen in government sometimes.
August’s Taxpayer Victory award goes to a unanimous vote of the Board to rescind authority earlier given to county staff to condemn property through eminent domain. Read more…
Differing Views on Wet Houses
Unbeknownst to each other, Commissioner Peter McLaughlin and I both wrote short letters to the editor to the Star Tribune that were printed side-by-side on Tuesday:
I’ve received a great deal of feedback — both positive and negative — regarding my criticism of “wet house” funding in last week’s Star Tribune (”Not always sober, but safe,” Aug. 12). The story originated from a posting on my blog (www.taxpayerwatchdog.org) about county and state funding of homes for chronic alcoholics in which they are allowed to continue to drink alcohol. Read more…
Last week’s Golden Fire Hydrant made the news today as the Star Tribune printed a lengthy story regarding “wet houses.”
Wet Houses: Not Always Sober, but Safe
By Kevin Duchshere
Hennepin County Commissioner Jeff Johnson has no quarrel with publicly funded treatment for alcoholics. But he said he struggles with taxpayer money going to housing for chronic alcoholics that offer no treatment at all.
Not only that, he was surprised to learn, the so-called “wet houses” don’t even require their homeless residents to stay sober. Read more…
Where does the money come from and where does it go?
The most common question I’m asked when wearing my county commissioner hat (which looks a bit like a Shriner’s fez, by the way) is pretty basic: “What does the county board do?”
The answer to that question could be very broad and detailed, but I generally sum it up in a sentence: “We spend a big chunk of your property tax dollars.”
Obviously, I’m oversimplifying. There is much more to my job as a commissioner than just spending money, but the budget aspect of the position is by far the most important part. I thought it worth a post to briefly describe the county budget and share where our budget dollars come from and where they go. Read more…
