WHOM CAN YOU "BANK" ON???

Another important point from May Board meeting:

During the Road Contractor contract agenda item, it "came to light" that last winter, an additional $14,000 (amount stated by Supervisor Miller) was expended on various front loaders and operators to remove large snowbanks that had piled up along roads in certain spots in the Township.  This money spent was stated as being above and beyond the road contract budget. 

(Full disclosure: One of the sites was directly across from my house, though I had nothing to do with it.)

 For purposes of the quote discussion at the meeting, this information was apparently brought up to debate whether quoted costs from applicants were "actual" or not.

During the rather heated exchange, Supervisor Mark Ceminsky stated that the expenditure was "on me," that he had authorized it.

It should come as no surprise to any Supervisor that he/she does not have the authority to okay such an expenditure on his/her own! You, the electorate, have selected a BOARD to make such decisions-- jointly.  Spending taxpayer money is always a Board decision.


During the time that Yours Truly served as Supervisor, the Board addressed this sort of situation on a minor scale by approving up to $2,500 on an emergency basis only, between meetings only, at the discretion of the Road Contractors. Think tree down in road. ONLY such expenditures that met these parameters were authorized by the sitting Board at the time. Anything else outside of a regular meeting such as, say, adding more gravel (as in routine maintenance) to a section of road would not, under normal circumstances, qualify as an approved expenditure. Cost? Emergency??  Probably neither would be met. This would have to be talked about and decided on, voted on, by the Board at its next regular meeting.


So what, you may ask, is a Supervisor to do?  Wait until the next Board meeting, perhaps weeks away? Certainly not.  What he/she should do is this: Ask for an Emergency Meeting of the Board.

From our Ordinances:

ORDINANCE 2: TOWNSHIP ADMINISTRATION 
Chapter 1: Town Board Meetings



2. Emergency Meetings 

"An emergency meeting is a special meeting called because of circumstances that, in the judgment of the Town Board, require immediate action involving protection of the public, peace, health and safety."

"All regular meetings, special meetings and emergency meetings shall comply
with the notice requirements set forth in the Open Meeting Law, Minnesota
Statutes Chapter 13D."

Also from our Ordinances, (Ordinance 2, Chapter 3, Section 5 - TIME AND PLACE OF MEETING) although spelled out in the Planning Commission section, but which, I believe, addresses Statutes Chapter 13D, thus applying to the Board as well:

"Emergency meetings may be called by the Chairperson or any two Members in writing filed with the clerk. The demand for the emergency meeting shall specify the date, time, place and purpose of the emergency meeting. As soon as possible the clerk shall telephone all Members and leave a message that informs the member of the date, time, place and purpose of the meeting; if a Member cannot be reached by telephone, then the telephone message may be left with an adult at the residence of the member or on the answering machine of the Member at the Member’s residence. If the message cannot so be left, the clerk shall deliver a written notice to the residence of the Member and tape it to the front door of the residence. The clerk shall make good faith efforts to provide notice of the meeting to each news medium that has filed a written request for notice if the request includes the news medium’s telephone number. Notice of the emergency meeting shall be given by telephone to each requesting news medium. Notice shall be provided to each news medium which has filed a written request for notice as soon as reasonably practicable after notice has been given
to the Members. Notice shall include the date, time, place and purpose of the emergency meeting. Posted or published notice of an emergency meeting shall not be required..."

A quick phone call to then-Chair Pete Storlie asking him to call a meeting and a gathering of at least three Supervisors for a brief, ten-minute session would have solved the issue appropriately.




Of note is that the claim would have been approved by the Board at its next meeting.  I do not recall any problem with or conversation about this situation at that time.  That might have been a good opportunity for the Board to clarify for everyone's benefit what the proper method is to handle these circumstances!


POINT OF INFORMATION ONLY: Any serial discussion/approval involving three or more members of an action/expenditure that might take place outside of a public meeting would not be in keeping with the Open Meeting Law, in my opinion. As I have always understood it, the Open Meeting Law provides for the public's right to listen to and observe discussions held and decisions being made by the Board of Supervisors concerning Township business.  This is the same reason a quorum of these public bodies may not start a discussion of Township business before a meeting has been called to order and why a quorum may not hang around and discuss Township business after a meeting has adjourned.

Is it likely anyone from the public would have been there or perhaps even known about such an emergency meeting? Probably not, but that's totally beside the point, folks.