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Pawlenty defends snowplowing changes
by Laura McCallum, Minnesota Public Radio
December 12, 2003

Gov. Pawlenty says the blizzard of criticism he's receiving about changes to state snowplowing policy is misguided. Pawlenty is defending MnDOT's plowing after this week's heavy snowstorm. MnDOT officials say they've made some changes in the snowplow schedule to save money on overtime pay, but the agency's snowplowing goals haven't changed. Some DFL lawmakers say commuters are angry, and the issue is a political problem for the governor.

St. Paul, Minn. — Lt. Gov. and Transportation Commissioner Carol Molnau joined Pawlenty on his radio show to explain MnDOT's current snowplowing policy. Molnau says the standards for clearing roads haven't changed, but snowplow drivers are now working three eight-hour shifts instead of two 12-hour shifts to save money on overtime.

Under the old schedule, half of the drivers were on the roads at all times. Now, 40 percent work the first shift, another 40 percent work the second shift, and 20 percent work the night shift. That means the number of plows on the road at night could drop from about 200 to less than 100.

Pawlenty told Molnau that some of the policy's critics are drivers who rely on the overtime pay.

"I want to be clear though, the standards that have been set for MnDOT over the past years, with or without budget pressures, has not changed. You intend to and will meet those standards, you're just not paying overtime to plow shoulders and median clearances because that can be done the next day during a regular shift or the day after on a regular shift and we don't have to burn up all the overtime," Pawlenty said.

Pawlenty also criticized some of the media coverage for focusing on anecdotal stories of frustrated commuters. He pointed out a front page article in the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

"They have kind of the impressions of one citizen from Edina saying that he didn't think the roads were up to snuff, and then kind of in the end they tuck in a paragraph from somebody from MnDOT who actually makes the decisions and has the statistics, but, you know, two-thirds of the article is one citizen's impressionistic views that the roads aren't up to snuff," Pawlenty said.

Pawlenty took a couple of calls from citizens questioning the snowplowing policy. A caller named Clifford said he was driving to the airport on Tuesday night.

"And the roads were all snowcovered, 94 was, 494, all the way over to the airport, it was really slow moving, and I didn't see one plow," he said.

"Yeah, well, I think we had six or more inches of snow Tuesday, and it was a lot of snow everywhere," Pawlenty responded. "This idea that it snowed really hard and there was snow on the roads shouldn't be a mystery to people, the question is: is it getting cleared any more slowly than in the past or has the standard changed, and what the lieutenant governor said is, it hasn't"

Pawlenty told the caller he'd monitor the situation. Democrats have seized on the issue, and think it could be politically damaging for the governor. Many suburban residents who weren't affected by most of the Republican budget cuts will likely notice if their commuting time increases.

The chair of the Senate Transportation Committee, Willmar DFLer Dean Johnson, has been critical of MnDOT's plans for plowing this winter.

"When the governor and the lieutenant governor came out this morning, it was, 'we're trying to cover our tracks because we're getting beaten up something terrible.' And I think it's only going to continue throughout the winter, because of the very tight and reduced budget they're attempting to operate."

MnDOT officials point out that snowplow funding wasn't affected by the Republican budget plan that erased a projected $4.5 billion deficit. Money for snowplowing comes from the trunk highway fund, a separate account that wasn't touched to balance the budget. But MnDOT is trying to save about 2 percent of the snowplow budget -- close to $1 million a year -- and use that money for Gov. Pawlenty's transportation plan.

The state must pay off debt for a $900 million plan that borrows money to speed up highway construction. MnDOT officials say they've received some complaints about snow plowing this week, but no more than they'd typically get after a heavy snowfall.

The governor's office says it hasn't received a noticeable number of complaints.

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