Talk about a lump of coal in Minnesota's Christmas stocking.

We won't know the specifics for a few months, but the impact of Thursday's announcement is going to be felt everywhere. Open jobs will be left unfilled -- which will translate into reduced services. Our cash-strapped court system won't get the relief it so desperately needs. Local Government Aid could be slashed, putting even more strain on cities that are struggling to keep enough police officers, firefighters and other public servants. Tuition at state universities almost certainly will go up.

The list will go on and on, and keep in mind that state economist Tom Stinson on Thursday said this budget projection isn't the worst-case scenario: "Things could be worse. They could be noticeably worse between now and the end of the biennium," he said.

In such an economic climate, many things will have to be pushed to the back burner, if not moved off the stove altogether. The Olmsted County Board already is talking about delaying construction of the new public safety training center in southeast Rochester, and other projects might suffer a similar fate. Everyone is waiting to see what kind of economic stimulus package the Obama administration will create, and we'll be well-served to have projects ready to go if federal dollars start flowing Minnesota's way.

Having said that, however, we know the federal government can't and won't fix this mess for us. Belt-tightening will be needed at the local level, and we respect Commissioner Jim Bier's support for wage freezes and/or tighter limits on pay raises for county employees. At a time when many Minnesotans have lost their jobs or haven't seen a pay raise in two years, we don't think it's unreasonable that some well-paid officials might "only" get a 2 percent raise next year.

And in a similar vein, we hope the Rochester School Board will immediately nix any further discussion of a referendum to build a new middle school. Wages are down, property taxes are up, and the school district already faces a $10 million shortfall.

Asking for a new building, plus the teachers to staff it, would only give voters a chance to express their mounting frustration and anger.

Finally, we would like Gov. Tim Pawlenty to openly disavow his "no new taxes" pledge. We can't cut our way out of this mess. Targeted tax increases are a likely component in any plan to get the state out of this fix.