10/27/2008 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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!o'zn 1Loo9 Charter Commission Audit Requested Presented to: The Lino Lakes City Council. 10/27/2008 A recent review of Charter Commission public records was conducted with the following fmdings and observations. The leaders of the Charter Commission are former council members that have surrounded themselves with like minded members that do not have a balanced view of the city needs and are pro - charter at all cost. Previous members have complained that members with dissenting views get forced off the commission while people with anti -city views get appointed or re- appointed. These are comments on record made by charter members regarding the city council. One was quoted as saying "screw the council" yet another was quoted as saying "we should bust them in the mouth ". Then Lino Lakes Charter Commission is using Taxpayer dollars this election to printing there Charter amendment campaign signs. These signs refer the public to there web site which is full of misinformation and has a very strong anti -city government tone. Legal authority of the Charter is limited by state law. A review of old agendas would reveal the Charter Commission went way beyond authority including regular review and critique of city council minutes and actions. Charter meeting used to be tape recorded and stored at city hall. They are now stored at someone's home and not available to the public. Minutes of the meetings used to be taken by the city clerk. They are now done by a charter member and most of the discussion and decisions are missing. Legal council is available to the Charter Commission and provided by the city attorney yet they hire there own attorney at additional expense to the city. The process for vacancies on the charter commission has changed in the past 5 years. Before applicants applied in writing to the city clerk. These applications were then forwarded on to a Judge for approval in an effort to keep balanced views on the committee. The Charter Commission now has applicants apply directly to them in writing. From there we don't know if all applications are forwarded to the Judge for review and selection. New members have no training our understanding of there role. Its time to hold the Charter Commission accountable. We are formally requesting the Lino Lakes City Council to have the proper public authority conduct an audit of the Charter Commissions ethics, fiances, activities and practices. We are requesting they be communicated with as to what there responsibilities are as required by state law and to operate within those limits. Respectfully submitted by Citizens for Safer Roads.