Last week, Gov. Tim Pawlenty gave legislators details of how he’d like to solve the $4.8 billion deficit and balance the budget for the next two years. Legislators now will spend the next two months working through his plan and finding areas of agreement and areas for improvement.

The governor’s budget proposal contains some pretty drastic ideas. However, the state is facing a massive budget shortfall, which is going to require serious cuts and a reassessment of the state’s spending priorities. We all know we have to work together in order to solve this problem, which is why I don’t want to be too quick to disregard any of the governor’s ideas. I think it’s important to thoroughly review every idea because in this economy, we need all options to be on the table.

To that end, the Legislature has scheduled a series of public meetings across the state on Feb. 19 and 20. The meetings are intended to be a place where Minnesotans can learn more about what’s in the budget — after all, you are the ones who will be most affected by the decisions we make at the Capitol, so you should know what’s being considered.

Most importantly, we also want to create forums to gather public input on the governor’s budget. We want to know what you think about the proposed budget. What are Minnesotan priorities that we should work to preserve? In what areas can we streamline services or government? Are there areas where we could save money, which lawmakers haven’t yet thought of? These are things we want to hear from you.

Senators and representatives from both parties and I are planning to meet in Albert Lea from 10 a.m. to noon on Friday, Feb. 20, in the Council Chambers at Albert Lea City Hall. Everyone is invited to come share their opinions about the budget proposals and other issues. Additional meetings will be taking place that week in St. Cloud, Willmar, Mankato, Rochester, Moorhead, Little Falls, Alexandria, Marshall, Worthington, Winona, Duluth, Virginia, Brainerd and Bemidji. If you would like details for times and locations for these meetings, please contact my office.

It’s important to remember no one will emerge from a budget deficit of this magnitude unscathed, and many tough decisions lay ahead. There is one focus that I think everyone must unite around, however: Make this budget solution a long-term solution that will position Minnesota for future success, not lead us down the same path we’ve been on the past several years.

I’m concerned that the governor’s proposal uses many funding shifts and severe budget cuts to fill the current budget deficit, but he largely ignores the expected ongoing deficit. We know this economic recession is not over and that our financial situation probably will not improve for several months. Yet the Governor doesn’t acknowledge that using $1 billion in one-time bond sales, for instance, to fill today’s budget gap will only leave us $1 billion short once again two years from now. We need a plan that will address our underlying budget problems so we can stop bouncing from deficit to deficit every two years.

This is why we’re asking for input. We know this budget calls for a major reform of government in many ways, and we can’t accomplish that without a collaborative effort.

Besides these public meetings, senators are collecting public suggestions on the budget at http://budgetform.senate.mn. You are invited to go online and enter your ideas and thoughts on the budget. We check the site regularly to collect new ideas and information. This is the people’s budget, and we want to make sure people have a voice in how we accomplish our goals.

As always, please feel free to contact me at (651) 296-9247; sen.dan.sparks@senate.mn; or 317 State Capitol, St. Paul, MN 55155.

Dan Sparks, DFL-Austin, is the state senator for District 27.