As Gov. Pawlenty prepares to deliver unallotment news this afternoon, the Freedom Foundation of Minnesota goes after the city of Mankato and its mayor, John Brady, for complaining about the cuts to Local Government Aid that are expected to be a big part of the unallotment.

The FFA, which advocates personal responsibility and limited government, notes that the city's website claims unallotment cuts of up to $3 million over two years and that "cuts at this level equal the total budget of parks, or all of the funding for fire services or nearly half of Mankato's police or street budget."

Says the FFA:

"If this is the case, one would expect responsible city leaders to prepare for the worst and immediately begin eliminating non-essential programs and spending.  If you're wondering if Mankato has done that, here's a small sample of the city's 2009 spending:

•  $690,000 to build a new hangar at the airport. According to public documents, the city is pursuing commercial aviation and will use the hangar "as an incentive to draw commercial business and air cargo service to the airport."
•  $700,000 for new youth baseball fields.
•  $3,840 grant for the Mankato Area 77 Lancers marching band.
•  $2,500 grant for the Mankato Area Community Band.
•  $7,300 grant for the Great River Energy Bike Festival.
•  $1,300 grant for an outdoor movie night.
•  $1,500 grant for South Central MN Pride, an organization that "promotes visibility and pride for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning and Ally communities of south central Minnesota. Money will be spent on the organization's annual Pridefest."

FFA says Mankato is also paying for sidewalk poetry and building  a "farm-themed animal park."

"It's true that the City of Mankato stands to lose a significant amount of LGA in the coming biennium, but perhaps they should confront the issue by eliminating dubious or frivolous spending items like those detailed above instead of scaremongering about the loss of essential city services. Instead of raising the spectre of massive public safety cuts, they could detail the measures they're taking to trim their budget and eliminate non-essential spending," the group says.