GILFILLAN ESTATES - Gov. Tim Pawlenty said public employees are overpaid and "over-benefitted" Thursday at his keynote Feature Forum address at Farmfest 2010.
Pawlenty said public employees benefits, salaries and entitlements and rising government budgets need to be reined in.
"How many private-sector employees can retire at 55 and get their health care paid for life?" Pawlenty said.
He said teachers in particular should be paid on results not seniority.
"They're using an outdated pay system. What are we getting for the money we put into schools?" Pawlenty added. "Teachers that don't show results should move on down the road."
Last spring, Pawlenty urged public employees at all government levels to accept a salary freeze to avoid layoffs.
He praised a Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system bargaining unit for agreeing on a new contract that froze salaries.
Union leaders said Pawlenty doesn't have the authority to dictate what should be done at bargaining tables and that wage freezes would not necessarily protect personnel because savings could be diverted to other budget areas.
Legislation introduced in the 2009 House and Senate tried to put the pay freeze issue into state law but failed to pass.
Pawlenty said state government budgets that have been growing for decades at more than 10 percent a year need to shrink.
He added that cities didn't have to raise property taxes due to state budget cuts.
"The charge that state cuts raised local taxes is hogwash," Pawlenty said. "The three years of property tax caps we got need to become permanent, except for voter-approved tax hikes."
Sleepy Eye farmer Richard Wurtzberger complained about the state spending $1 billion on efforts to clean the Minnesota River.
"It's a big, big waste," Wurtzberger said.
Minnesota Agriculture Commissioner Gene Hugoson said the river must be continually monitored for runoff and sediment.
"The Minnesota River will never be like the St. Croix because it has earthen banks that erode," Hugoson added.
Pawlenty said not everything is "going to heck in a hand basket. Growing world food demand, forecast to double by 2050, "is a tremendous opportunity and a reason to open more international food markets."
Hugoson said agricultural job opportunities off the farm, which comprise 80 percent of agriculture jobs, continue to grow around the state.
"I'm very optimistic about the future of renewable fuels and the number of young people interested in agriculture jobs," Hugoson said.
He said Cuba's demand for U.S. agriculture and medical products would increase if it opens to U.S. tourism.
"Right now, Cubans can't afford U.S. products, and trade is very restricted by the Cuban government - which must change," Hugoson said.
"Like it or not, we're in a global economy. There is a Chinese delegation here today," he added.
In other developments at Farmfest, the Jenna and Mike Griebel family of New Ulm, fourth generation farmers, were named the Brown County Farm Family of the Year.
The Griebel farm includes 100 dairy cows, 300 acres of alfalfa, corn and soybeans, and it offers custom bailing.
(Fritz Busch can be e-mailed at fbusch@nujournal.com).
