It was a previous Department of Natural Resources director who delivered the warning.
“I have gotten I don’t know how many complaints from legislators and small business owners about, ‘You used to do this and now you don’t any more,’” then-Director Rich Leopold told The Des Moines Register last year. “[Y]ou want smaller government, this is what it looks like.”
Now, for a fresh look.
On Wednesday, the Register’s Perry Beeman reported that current DNR Director Roger Lande informed his staff that the agency would eliminate more than 100 jobs. The excuse? Lack of funds.
This, at the same time Lande’s boss, Governor Terry Branstad, and state lawmakers are haggling over how much in tax breaks can be built not just into the FY2012 budget beginning July 1, but for the year after that, and structurally in the budget for years beyond.
As the Iowa Fiscal Partnership has pointed out, Iowans value many services that would not be available but for the public structures created by our tax dollars — education, law enforcement, safety-net services, and, yes, environmental quality. When Iowa already has substantially cut services and shown almost no restraint in its giveaways to corporations, some of which are subsidized not to pay any tax, should the DNR cuts be a surprise?
Maybe you won’t notice cuts like those Lande announced Wednesday.
Then again, maybe you want to take the kids to the lake this summer.
According to the Register article, the agency’s stream monitoring coordinator said remaining employees “will struggle to monitor lake and river pollution after the cuts.” So, take the kids — but maybe you’ll be jumping in the lake at your own risk.
Not a bad idea, perhaps, for some folks other than your family.
Posted by Mike Owen, Assistant Director
