Downey Views Compromise Deal as 'Jekyll and Hyde'

State Rep. Keith Downey (R-Edina) lauded the compromise , though said there were plenty of details still be be ironed out.

"Any negotiated settlement like this is both Jekyll and Hyde," Downey said. "There's lots of stuff not to like from both perspectives, but plenty of stuff to like as well. That's how a compromise should be."

The big victory, he said, was the fact that the budget impasse was resolved without raising taxes. He said it feels as though neither side truly won, though he believes the business climate of the state is the true victor by virtue of "us not raising taxes."

"We maybe didn't take the giant step forward we wanted, but we'll at least have taken some steps," Downey said. "We have a divided government, so you meet in a spot where everyone can look at both sides of the coin."

One of the conditions laid out in the compromise deal was eliminating a in the number of employees at executive branch agencies. Downey, who authored that piece of legislation, said he would have preferred to see the government stick with his proposed 7.5 percent reduction over the course of the biennium.

"I think we'll end up closer to where the governor was when he announced his budget as a 6 percent reduction over two years," he said. "It's not 15 over four, but it's better than nothing."

Final detail negotiations have yet to be ironed out, though Downey said a lot of the work is done as legislators had done plenty of legwork on finance bills the week of June 27.

"I'm hopeful we can hammer out final negotiations in the next couple of days," he said.