If you're thinking that a state shutdown might save money, think again

What are the real costs of a state shutdown? Potentially, 36,000 state employees who perform vital services for Minnesotans will be laid off. Businesses, organizations and local government will be hugely affected. Citizens will see significantly reduced services throughout the state.

As a recently retired state employee who experienced the 2005 state shutdown, I have a few thoughts.

Management perspective: Weeks ago, managers in all state agencies attended meetings to determine how best to prepare their agencies for a shutdown. They had the agonizing task of determining which services should be considered "essential" and which "nonessential," and which employees must remain or be laid off. Many state services are mandated by the Minnesota Legislature or are special projects (many of which are federally funded -- but those employees will still be laid off).

Managers had or still have to decide what activities the remaining staff will perform during the shutdown. Upper management worked with unions and legal staff to ensure proper procedures are followed.

Hundreds of managers have spent thousands of hours and hundreds of thousands of government dollars to prepare for the shutdown, while other important functions were not performed. Managers compiled and sent to Human Resources list of people who would receive layoff notices. Human Resources, often with limited staff, spent countless hours preparing layoff notices. Imagine the costs of paper, envelopes, printing costs and postage to send them.

State employee perspective: Thousands of state employees are significantly involved with their profession and programs. They want to work. A state shutdown drastically affects their work. For many, this is the second state shutdown they have experienced.

Just like other people, state employees pay for housing, cars, gas, food, insurance and living costs. For months, many have been living in high anxiety over losing their income. Some are already living on the brink of economic disaster; this loss of income could finish them, economically, leaving a further negative impact on our economy.

Most employees are working on important projects. The uncertainty of whether they will stop their work midstream is a huge waste of time and money, and is extremely difficult for many. Many employees who are doing excellent work on important programs that support the state's infrastructure are faced with fear, anger and resentment because the Legislature did not get its job done.

One small example of the impact of a state shutdown: Several staff in one agency have been preparing for months to hold a conference in July. Topics have been identified; speakers have been found and written a synopsis of their presentation; arrangements have been made with a hotel or other facility to hold the conference; food has been ordered; a program booklet has been written, placed online and printed; people have registered and paid for the conference.

If a shutdown occurs, this conference will be canceled. The hotel will have to cancel all arrangements, including food and staff. The hotel will lose significant revenue - not to mention the revenue that might have come from other functions that could have used the facility that day. After the shutdown ends and people return to work, staff will spend many hours to reimburse people who paid to attend the conference and address many other issues.

Yes, we need to find ways to streamline government spending and find ways for citizens to pay their fair share of taxes to support our infrastructure.

A state shutdown does not save money. In fact, it has already cost the state hundreds of thousands of dollars and caused extreme stress to thousands of employees.

For many years, our elected officials have failed to make hard decisions regarding the budget. Most of them work very hard to find ways to resolve issues. What seems to get in the way is the extreme partisanship and unwillingness to make significant compromises.

The soaring financial costs of preparing for a shutdown and its aftermath are unknown, but they were completely unnecessary.

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M.L. Robert, St. Paul, worked at the Minnesota Department of Health as a Lyme disease educator for seven years, then for eight years as a health educator and planner for the department's Office of Emergency Preparedness.

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