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CC_Minutes_2003_0728
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Roseville City Council
Document Type
Council Minutes
Meeting Date
7/28/2003
Meeting Type
Regular
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<br />July 27, 2003 <br />Page 8 <br /> <br />services. With that information a governing body determines whether the charges are <br />"reasonable." 7 <br /> <br />2. Consultation With the City Attorney <br /> <br />It is required under Minn. Stat. 9 465.76 that the municipality consult with its legal <br />counsel regarding reimbursement. This is accomplished through what the City is doing at this <br />juncture, requesting an opinion and answers to questions regarding reimbursement. It is also <br />accomplished by questions during the proceedings of the governing body at which <br />reimbursement is discussed and! or decided. <br /> <br />3. Disinterested Officials <br /> <br />Minn. Stat. 9 465.76 references the fact that ifless than a quorum of the governing body <br />is disinterested, reimbursement is to be approved by a judge of the district court. The statute <br />itself does not indicate whether that is to occur before or after a decision of the Council. In <br />other words, were City Council Members all interested in the reimbursement decision, could <br />they make that decision and then present it to the court for approval? Or, does it mean that the <br />decision is to go to the court in the first instance? The Kroschel, supra, case answers the <br />question by clarifying the statute and indicating the decision is to be made by the district court <br />under such circumstances. <br /> <br />As earlier indicated in a footnote, disinterested in this sense means a lack of a pecuniary <br />interest in the outcome. It could also be said to encompass an interest that is not likely to be <br />contrary to the interest of the general public. I raise that issue because there could be interests <br />that are non-pecuniary that would mandate that an individual member of the governing body <br />also be found not to be "disinterested." For instance, in circumstances where the charges of a <br />criminal nature were, let us say a criminal assault or battery, and the assault was by one <br />Council Member against another Council Member, the victim of the crime might have an <br />interest sufficient to determine that he is not "disinterested." <br /> <br />However, in our opinion, it is an exceedingly limited and narrow situation outside a <br />pecuniary interest where a member of the governing body might be said not to be disinterested. <br />Reimbursement issues can and frequently will be hot button items for municipalities. It is <br />quite easy for members, in particular those members who have a pecuniary interest, to allege <br />that other members will not act fairly or make a decision based upon what that member deems <br />to be best and appropriate under the circumstances. Frankly, that will be present in almost <br /> <br />7 This is in accordance with the large body of law existing in the courts and arising out of what are called fee shifting cases. <br />In the American judicial system, litigants normally pay their own attorney's fees. In some cases, by virtue of statutes, a <br />prevailing party is allowed to recover fees from a losing party. Hundreds, if not thousands of cases have been decided <br />under those fee shifting standards, from the United States Supreme Court down to the lowest district courts. The standards <br />set forth in the text above come directly out of those cases. <br />
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