07-09-2009 Charter Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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• The charter commission expenses to be paid by the City must solely relate to: (i) the employment of an attorney and other personnel to assist in framing the charter or any amendment or revision and/or, (ii) the cost to print the charter and any amendment or revision. h is not enough that the expenses be reasonable and necessary. These interpretations are consistent with the language used in Section 410.06, taken together with Chapter 645 of the Minnesota Statutes governing the canons of mon. "[Gjeneral words are construed to be restricted in their meaning by preceding particular words... i4 In the cases discussing this canon, it has been held that where, in a statute, words particularly designate specific things (reasonable compensation and cost of printing) and are followed by words of general import regarding comprehensively designating things (reasonable and necessary charter commission expenses), the latter are generally to be regarded as comprehending only as to the matters particularly stated. In other words, the latter used phrase (reasonable and necessary commission expenses, found in sentence two of §410.06) solely relates to the prior phrase (reasonable compensation and cost of printing, found in sentence one of §410.06). The first part of Section 410.06 particularly designates that the commission may contract for the reasonable compensation of an attorney or other personnel for the sole purpose of framing a charter and amendments. Following the limited contractual language are the words that prescribe the payment of $1,500.00 by the City using the general term of "reasonable and necessary charter commission expenses". Under the rules of construction the phrase "commission expenses" relates solely to the payment of compensation to an attorney or others employed to assist in framing amendments or revisions to the charter (the cost of printing the amendment or revision is also included.) Recently, the Dakota County District Court, in denying a charter commission's request for reimbursement from the City for the cost of producing a Web Site, found that for expenses to be paid by the city, the expenses must relate to the statutory itemized expenses ofi (1) the employment of an attorney and other personnel to assist in framing the charter and any amendment or revision and (2) the cost to print the charter and any amendments or revision. A city is not authorized by statute to pay for other charter commission expenses. The Court's interpretation also conforms to the position of the Office of the State Auditor. The Office of the Auditor has stated that to "simply annually appropriate $1,500 to a charter commission .... is inconsistent with the statute." The expenses must be reasonable and necessary and related to the charter commission's purpose and powers laid out in the statute." 4 Mmn. Stat. §-645.08, cabp. 3 (2008). 6