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City of Babbitt CITY HALL • BABBITT, MINNESOTA 55706 (218) 827-3464 COUNCIL Fax (218) 827-2204 MAYOR LeRoy Aho Hobert a 01sen Hose Merle Soffa CLERK Roger Irwin Floe Post xlensek,CMC Loo Lion TREASURER February, 1994 Luda�..fohnson Dear City Clerk/Administrator: In talking with our neighboring cities, we find we share .a similar problem - legal fees are higher than the proceeds realized when a person is found guilty by the courts. It can be as simple as dog-leash law offenses - the person pleads not guilty, is found guilty, is given a fine which they say they can't pay and, often, the system asks if they can work off the fine by community service under the City's supervision. (For the past few years, the City of Babbitt has had the policy of allowing an offender to work for the City, in this capacity, only one time.) Even when the offender does pay the fine, it's often minimal. The City receives a small percentage of the fine which doesn't even cover the legal fees charged by the attorney. (Babbitt can't afford to have an attorney on staff or on retainer.) The Babbitt City Council is asking if you'd be interested in uniting to put pressure on the legislators to change the laws. We would like to see that those found guilty by the courts also be assessed the legal costs of prosecution. Under the present system, innocent taxpayers are paying the costs of the guilty. Small cities are "caught between " required to do their job, et the know a rock and a hard lace Police officers are requ � , y y P C will receive. it will cost the Cit more dollars than the City Y I am attaching copies of our Ordinance No. 93-32, a letter from Attorney General Humphrey III and a letter from Representative Dave Battaglia. If your Council agrees with us, will they consider passing a resolution stating something similar to ours? Then, please send one to the Attorney General, one to each of your legislators and a copy to me. Individu- ally, we can accomplish so little, but TOGETHER we can achieve much. Thank you for your time and consideration. If you wish to discuss this, feel free to contact me at the above address, fax number, or my direct line (218) 827-2188. I'll also be at the MCFOA conference in St. Cloud March 15-18 and will be happy to discuss it there. Sincerely, Elaine Postudensek, CMC City Clerk Enclosure Babl+9u . "Babbitt the Home of Taconite"