The Andover City Council unanimously approved a resolution Jan. 20 expressing concern over state fiscal management and its potential impact on local services amid Minnesota’s ongoing fraud scandal.
Mayor Jamie Barthel said misuse of state funds can ultimately shift financial burdens to cities that rely on state aid to provide services.
Barthel referenced a letter circulated by Cross Lake Mayor Jackson Purfeerst and signed by hundreds of mayors statewide, saying it reflected the views of those who chose to sign on.
“Instead of signing it, I chatted with the rest of the council, and we talked about doing a resolution,” Barthel said. “An official message from the city of Andover to the state of Minnesota, to say hey, we are not happy about this fraud.”
Barthel said fraud has had a significant negative impact on residents by reducing funding available to both cities and counties, prompting the council to pursue a formal resolution rather than an individual statement.
Copies of the resolution were sent to Gov. Tim Walz, Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy and House Speaker Lisa Demuth, along with Andover’s legislative delegation: Rep. Peggy Scott, Sen. Cal Bahr, Rep. Harry Niska, Rep. Kari Rehrauer and Sen. Jim Abeler.
Council Member Scott Schue proposed a friendly amendment to the administrator’s draft resolution that would acknowledge that funding losses disproportionately affect the city’s poorest and most vulnerable residents who depend on state-supported programs.
Schue also proposed language calling for a review of unfunded mandates and for restitution from individuals who benefited financially while costs were passed down to cities.
Schue said families were already experiencing reduced services before the full scope of the fraud became public.
“Their budgets for people with special needs, as an example — it was smaller, it had been reduced,” Schue said. “Had there not been any corruption, that wouldn’t have necessarily been the case.”
Schue said the resolution should reflect both fiscal and human consequences.
“But I also think there’s the compassionate side, the people’s side, that we should be including in this … the taxpayer is important, absolutely, but who is the taxpayer?” Schue said. “The taxpayer is our residents out there that are gonna suffer because of this corruption.”
Schue added that if the Legislature considers cutting funding or shifting costs tied to mandates, it should also review mandates previously enacted into law.
Council Member Jonathan Shafto expressed concern about broadly calling for the revocation of all unfunded mandates.
“I don’t know if I necessarily agree with that, because I don’t know what all of the unfunded mandates are,” Shafto said. “So that’s where I’m struggling with that particular line, because I’m just seeing this tonight.”
Shafto suggested revising the language to encourage the state to consider such action rather than require it, which Schue agreed to.
Council Member Rick Engelhardt noted that many unfunded mandates were enacted years ago and could be difficult to reverse.
“It may be tough to unwind that,” Engelhardt said, “and there’s already an outline for some shared expenses from the city, the county up the chain.”
Schue withdrew that portion of his amendment, and the council approved the remaining changes 4-0.
Barthel said he had heard from numerous residents in recent weeks and said the council wanted to take a clear, unified position.
“There’s no more official way than this,” Barthel said.
Shafto thanked Barthel for bringing the issue forward, while Schue praised him for declining to sign the mayors’ letter, which Schue said had been signed by 241 mayors statewide.
“It’s a much more powerful thing, in my opinion, that you have the Council with you on this, and I think it’s a formal step up,” Schue said. “It’s not just this mayor, and this mayor, and this other mayor … this puts it into an official capacity.”