It’s not every year Minnesota legislators consider a new bonding bill. Traditionally, in fact, it’s every two years.

But in keeping with the oddities of the 2020s so far, another bonding bill is in front of state legislators just a few months after the passing a $1.87 billion bonding package in October.

Gov. Tim Walz’s office has put a $518 million package of projects in front of legislators to consider this session. Among the priorities are $100 million for competitive projects to support home ownership through development, home rehab and other initiatives; $52.5 million for the Department of Natural Resources, with about two-thirds of it earmarked for maintenance and upgrades of existing infrastructure; and $43 million for security improvements at the Capitol complex.

There’s also $10 million on the wish list for the design and environmental work needed to add a second daily Amtrak run between the Twin Cities and Chicago, and $9.7 million for deferred maintenance at Minnesota’s 11 state correctional facilities.

Let’s pause here to add this fact to the conversation:

The estimated cost of catching up on all of the deferred maintenance at the state’s prison facilities is not $9.7 million. It’s not even $97 million. To meet all of the deferred maintenance needs at the state’s correctional facilities would take almost $612 million — more than 63 times the spending proposed in the current bonding proposal.

The enumerated needs include perimeter security systems upgrades, window and door replacements and hazmat abatement, along with general investment in maintenance including roof replacements, masonry tuck pointing and code compliance issues.

In other words, we are $612 million behind on work that needs to be done to keep our communities and corrections workers as safe as we expect — and to provide adequate shelter to an average of 8,500 incarcerated men and women per day, less those in contracted housing in county jails.

We are in no way proposing that the state bond for all of the needed projects at state prisons in a single year. We’re taken aback, however, at the disconnects in this bonding proposal. We support in concept the need to upgrade security at the state Capitol; we wonder if $43 million is the right price for that when less than $10 million can be spared for corrections. Is $11 million for a second Amtrak run the right price, in the same context?

Pragmatically, Minnesota can’t afford to allow maintenance on major physical state assets like those in the corrections system to fall decades behind, which is the only logical outcome if funding levels like those reflected in this bonding proposal continue. Remember, if nothing else goes wrong anywhere in the prison system, it will still take 63 years to fix everything, at this year’s bonding pace.

And ethically, Minnesota can’t afford to allow health, safety and security issues to languish in buildings where is employs and houses thousands of Minnesotans, ostensibly in an effort to protect other Minnesotans. When we say we want to be tough on crime, that means we have to be willing to pay for decent places for criminals to live while they serve their sentences, and for our corrections workers to do their jobs.

We’ll let the governor’s own words make our case for more bonding money for the Department of Corrections’ deferred maintenance projects:

“By maintaining existing assets, we can keep our state’s infrastructure strong and reliable for generations to come. What’s more, we can create jobs that boost our economy in the process,” Walz said in a statement Monday afternoon.

Maintenance is less expensive than replacement of these assets. Providing adequate corrections facilities for inmates and workers is the right thing to do. Let’s catch up a little faster.

— St. Cloud Times