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amink sium --�- Lyin11.15 3490 Lexington Avenue North League of Minnesota Cities St. Paul, MN 55126-8044 September 12, 1994 Ms. Samantha Orduno City Administrator City of Mounds View 2401 Highway 10 Mounds View, MN 55112 Dear Ms. Orduno: I am writing in confirmation of our telephone conversation of earlier this afternoon regarding the issue of term limits being placed on the ballot. As you aware, it is nearly unanimously accepted that term limits are unconstitutional under the Minnesota State Constitution. By now, you should have received a copy of a memo which outlines the options a city has when dealing with a petition calling for an election on term limits and which was faxed by the League to all home rule charter cities this past Friday. I know that the action in Mounds View was initiated by the Charter Commission, but the council's options remain the same. A copy of that memo is attached in case you did not receive it earlier. Should the city elect to allow the issue of term limits to go on the ballot and they are adopted by the voters, it is likely that an incumbent subsequently denied the opportunity to seek re-election will challenge the law in court, and there is every reason to believe that the councilmember will prevail. In this situation, the City of Mounds View was concerned over whether or not the League's Insurance Trust would provide coverage for the claim. In particular, you asked whether or not the charter commission would be covered by the city's insurance should the commission and its members be sued in addition to or instead of the councilmembers. I discussed your particular concerns with the Pete Tritz, LMCIT's Administrator, who I believe you had talked to earlier. In addition, Carla Heyl, LMC Senior Staff Attorney, left me a note with her thoughts on this matter. We are all in agreement that the charter commission would be considered a part of the city and would therefore be covered by the city's coverage under LMCIT. Whether or not a particular claim will be covered by LMCIT of course depends on the specific facts of the case. Only claims for damages are handled under LMCIT coverage. In the situation most likely to arise out of the term limit debate, the councilmember seeking to have the term limit provision overturned would seek attorney fees under what is known as 4 section 1983 action. Under the provisions of the LMCIT coverage document, an action for attorney fees under section 1983 constitutes a AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY/AFFIRMATIVE ACTION EMPLOYER (812)490-5600 1100-925-1122 plus your city code TDD(812)490 038 Fax(812)490.0072 ZOd S3I .LI a Mtn 40 3CIJd3 'I * id £ it : is0 i56 °Z i '60