MANKATO — Mike Parry’s attitude about Local Government Aid provides unmistakable evidence that he’s not a traditional outstate Minnesota Republican candidate.

LGA traditionally has been warmly embraced by Democrats and most Republicans in greater Minnesota. Those rural Republicans who haven’t been outspoken advocates of it have at least supported it.

The reason was obvious: Their constituents benefited from the program because it transfers money to less affluent cities and towns, allowing for higher quality services without the large property tax increases that otherwise would be required.

Parry, the Waseca Republican looking to replace former Sen. Dick Day in Tuesday’s special election, mirrors the position that five years ago was aggressively pursued only by a few  Republican lawmakers from wealthy Twin Cities suburbs.

Like those suburban Republicans, Parry said LGA is an unfair transfer of wealth and that it undermines accountability by allowing rural city councils to spend money they don’t have to tax for.

“LGA to me is nothing but a credit card,” said Parry, who has also called it “a hammock” for city officials.

Hammock or hand?

Democratic candidate Jason Engbrecht of Faribault could hardly disagree more, saying LGA is a crucial program to protect outstate homeowners from huge property tax hikes.

“What I tell people is to remember why we have LGA,” Engbrecht said. “LGA is a big part of what keeps our property taxes low.”

Without LGA, homeowners and businesses in small towns without a large property tax base would be forced to pay substantially higher property taxes for the same level of government services, compared to those in wealthier towns. The owner of a $150,000 house in the first category might face a property tax bill that’s twice as high as the owner of a $150,000 home in towns in the second category, Engbrecht said.

“That wasn’t uncommon before there was LGA,” he said.

So be it, Parry said. It’s not government’s job to equalize wealth or to make sure that every town is able to offer the same level of services.

“People don’t want that,” Parry said of state subsidies for their cities. “They want their communities to live within their means.”

And if people don’t like the level of services or the property tax bills they face, they can move to one of those wealthier cities that offers more for less, he said.

Engbrecht has a different view of what taxpayers in District 26 want. Many rural Minnesotans are struggling to get by in a tough economy and will be driven from their homes if they must contend with even steeper property tax increases. Most are life-long residents of their hometowns and don’t want to move to regional centers or suburbs, he said.

“If people choose to live elsewhere, that’s fine,” Engbrecht said. “If people are driven to live elsewhere, that’s a different thing.”

IP’s Srp on LGA

The third candidate in the race, Waseca Mayor and Independence Party candidate Roy Srp, agrees and disagrees with both Engbrecht and Parry.

Srp and Parry, who served one term on the Waseca City Council, said that reductions in LGA in recent years have provided responsible cities with an opportunity to scrutinize their budgets.

“We were living beyond our means,” Srp said.

By making cuts and prioritizing spending, Waseca was able to slightly reduce its levy in 2010 while still plowing the streets and providing police and fire protection, Srp said.

“That continued the process of becoming lean and mean,” he said of the latest LGA reductions. “... Waseca recognized early on that this downturn was coming.”

Srp agrees with Engbrecht, however, that District 26 benefits from LGA and he will fight for its preservation even if he doesn’t win on Tuesday.

“As long as LGA exists, I will fight as a mayor to get for Waseca the LGA we need,” he said.

At the same time, Srp is pessimistic about the future of LGA in the face of continuing state budget deficits and expects cities will need to wean themselves from it.

To prevent population drain from rural Minnesota to bigger cities, towns may need to look at cooperation and consolidation the way rural schools did decades ago, he said.

“I think the same thing is going to hold true for other government bodies,” Srp said.

Other issues

While few issues bring unanimity from the three candidates, Highway 14 pulls it off.

The highway stretches across District 26 from Waseca to just west of Claremont, much of it still two-lane.

All three promise to push for more funding to complete the conversion to four-lane expressway.

Srp and Engbrecht support large bonding bills to improve roads, bridges and other infrastructure and to provide jobs to unemployed construction workers. Parry maintains that only smaller government, and a reduced tax burden on businesses, will bring the jobs and economic growth Minnesota needs.

Parry and Srp oppose abortion. Engbrecht supports abortion rights, although he joins Parry in opposing legislative authorization for gay marriage.