Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation

Minnesota has ANTI-SLAPP laws on the books.
What is a SLAPP?
Retaliatory lawsuits intended to silence, intimidate, or punish those who have used public forums to speak, petition, or otherwise move for government action on an issue.
Link Here

Senior Citizen Arraigned on Criminal Charges

A Centerville senior citizen was arraigned July 22nd in Anoka County on four criminal counts of ordinance violation. This resident was an active participant in obtaining petition signatures for the State audit of the City of Centerville. She was also vocal in the disagreement with City officials on the 2009 road project (Link Here) in which the City scaled back the scope and cost from the initial $7.8 million to approximately $4.5 million. Last but not least, she was also involved with a dispute regarding a variance the City approved for development on her street. Here and Here

This senior citizen is now being charged with violating the Centerville right of way/easement ordinance 93.17. One violation is due to two bricks placed in the ground (see photo above) to protect a sprinkler head from being damaged at the edge of the property. Meanwhile, there are 80+ other properties in town with same or similar easement violations that the city officials have chosen to not pursue.
One interesting example is a mailbox violation (same ordinance 93.03) in which a developer also former planning and zoning member is in violation. The matter was brought to the attention of the City Administrator Dallas Larson and here is his response Feb. 2008. As of today, the mailboxes still stand but not in the required clusters of no less than 4 no more than 6... Right next door to the alleged criminal senior citizen!
Currently there are no charges pending against the two year old mailbox violation.
Click images to enlarge
Other criminal counts the senior is facing pertain to ordinance 150.01 bringing in more than 10 yards of fill, altering the drainage plan for the property and constructing retaining walls without obtaining a permit.
Although the resident has obtained the necessary permits from the Rice Creek Watershed District approving the recent work our City officials have decided to move forward with criminal charges paying City Attorney Kurt Glaser a minimum of 95 (taxpayer) dollars per hour to prosecute.
Neighbors have verified that the retaining walls in question have been there for years and wonder why the City is now pursuing criminal charges.
Mayor Mary Capra is on record stating that the City of Centerville enforces ordinances on a complaint basis. City Administrator Dallas Larson has stated that the matter has been referred to the City Attorney and it has been left to the attorney to resolve the issues.

Is this complaint based/selective enforcement or is this the price citizens will pay for exercising their Constitutional Rights by walking petitions or speaking out at public meetings?

Wikipedia;
Selective enforcement is the ability that executors of the law (such as police officers or administrative agencies, in some cases) have to arbitrarily select choice individuals as being outside of the law. The use of enforcement discretion in an arbitrary way is referred to as selective enforcement or selective prosecution.

Historically, selective enforcement is recognized as a sign of tyranny, and an abuse of power, because it violates Rule of Law, allowing men to apply justice only when they choose. Aside from this being inherently unjust, it almost inevitably must lead to favoritism and extortion, with those empowered to choose being able to help their friends, take bribes, and threaten those they desire favors from.

Regarding Cannon Falls History Repeating Itself in Centerville

A blast from the past...
One resident in the know understands how City government works, or doesn't.
Click Here

Anonymous said...

There are two residents on Old Mill Road (10 acre parcels) that have been assessed $90,000 each for "best use of land" and "potential value" while Linda Broussard-Vickers sitting council member (80 some acres) has been assessed NOTHING!
Meanwhile, these property values have dropped dramatically!

The Anoka County court cases are still being litigated

Another resident on Peltier Lake Drive being assessed over $10,000 had the case thrown out on a technicality... Filing the wrong paperwork!

Link Here

Is there is a reason that the State audit has not been revealed?
Could Cannon Falls history be repeating itself here in Centerville?

July 8, 2009 11:19 PM

City Council Meeting 6/10/2009

Should the opinion of a "professional" (City obtained) Appraiser trump the findings of the Anoka County Assessor? Apparently, here in Centerville it does so by a unanimous City Council vote! The business was assessed more than the entire worth of the property!
June 10, 2009 City Council minutes taken directly from the Centerville City website.

City Attorney Glaser stated that he had reviewed all the numbers with City Engineer Statz and City Administrator Larson and conducted due diligence He had also hired a professional appraiser He stated there was one exception a previous assessment to the property in approximately 1990. At that time the entire parcel was owned by Sheehy and fourths to they sold three Lloyd Drilling Later the City purchased the Lloyd Drillings portion The total assessment was $82,000 He suggested that the Council be conservative and credit fourth or 500 which was paid on the old Sheehy approximately one $20,000 assessment This would make Sheehys assessment approximately $380,000.

Patrick Lee OHalloran, Sheehys attorney stated that Sheehy objection is two fold.

1. According to the Minnesota Supreme Court and the statutes all you can assess is an increase in the property value from the improvements. $316,000 is the entire property value according to the County Assessor

2 All benefiting properties should be assessed In this case no other property owners who benefited have been assessed

MrLee O Halloran stated that when Sheehy owned the entire parcel they were assessed and paid for the assessment Therefore they already paid for the same improvements and do not have to pay for them twice He continued that the east side of property borders Lino Lakes and Lino Lakes benefited as much as Sheehy The total amount received from Lino Lakes was $150,000 for the same amount of frontage. Mr Lee OHalloran stated that only a small section of their property needed improvement Sheehy would like Centerville to consider $154,000 the real offer for the as assessment, they believe is more than fair.

Adopting the Assessment Roll for the 21St Avenue Backage Road Improvements
Council member Lee stated that he is in agreement with the City Staff about the expected increase in value Council member Fehrenbacher stated that he agrees with staff recommendation on the $400,000 number City Attorney Glaser stated that when a party appeals an assessment to the District Court the Court does not decide what the number will be If it believes the City number is wrong it will be sent back to the City He noted that litigation could cost approximately $20,000 Councilmember Broussard Vickers stated that she supports the findings of the appraiser, City Administrator Larson, City Engineer Statz and City Attorney Glaser. Mayor Capra stated that she disagrees with the $154,000 number proposed by Sheehy She stated that she would agree to decrease the proposed assessment amount by the $20,500 credit for the earlier assessment
Motion by Council Member Broussard Vickers seconded by Council Member Paar to approve Res Adopting the Assessment Roll for the 21 St Avenue Backage Road Improvements setting the Sheehy assessment at $379,000. All in favor Motion carried unanimously.
Link Quad Press Story Here

Did Centerville Have a Full Time Finance Director?

While not illegal, Centerville's finance chief also worked for other cities and a private firm.

Meyer was the town's finance director, with a salary of $83,000, until he resigned from the suburban community of 3,800 earlier this year. And he had a full-time job at an architectural and engineering firm based in Fargo, N.D.

There's more: Meyer was on the payroll one day a week in Maple Lake, earning about $42,000 last year, city officials said. Plus he had a consulting business, assisting small towns such as Frazee and Canby, according to his website.

City Administrator Larson credited Meyer with bringing in $3 million in grants since the fall of 2004, when he became finance director. He said the controversy over his employment is a "nonstory" prompted by a group of disgruntled citizens.

But his marathon moonlighting is very unusual, said Robin Roland, immediate past president of the Minnesota Government Finance Officers Association. Roland, who has been active in the 600-member organization for 15 years, said she didn't know any other finance director with two jobs, much less three.
"We have a code of ethics that basically says if we work for a city, we work for the city," said Roland, Farmington's finance director. "We don't do three or four different things."

Full Story Here
Star Tribune
05/02/2009
Jean Hopfensperger

Exit Question:
Will Mary Capra and current Council take any action?

What is Happening With The State Audit of Centerville?

Here is what we know today. (Re post of April 1st)

The audit was completed between November and January.
Centerville will be charged approximately $60 per hour for the investigation. We do not know how many hours will be billed.

The audit is currently under review.
Centerville will not be charged for the review process.

The review completion is done in multiple steps.
The audit of Cambridge was not released for nine months.
Link to audit Here
At this time we are waiting for a phone call from the State and have no inside information as to the approximate completion date.

Per Minnesota Statute 6.715
Data that support the conclusions of the report and that the state auditor reasonably believes will result in litigation are protected nonpublic data or confidential data on individuals, until the litigation has been completed or is no longer being actively pursued.
Link to statute Here

Whether the formal proceedings against a Centerville business is related to the audit or simply coincidence is unknown to us at this time.

CENTERSTONE TITLE LLC
Respondent created and controlled sham affiliated business arrangements; and provided other forms of kickbacks to referral partners in exchange for the referral of title insurance business.
Link to findings Here

Thank you to everyone that has supported the State audit. We will continue to do our best to keep you informed of our findings.

Council Members Moving Forward With Finance Director Replacement

While many question the necessity of hiring a new full time replacement, the council will conduct the first round of candidate interviews Saturday, May 9.

“I’m not aware of anything [concerning Meyer’s job performance] that would raise any huge red flags,” Larson told The Citizen. “If he was resourceful enough to generate a few dollars on the side in a consulting business, that’s fine, as long as it didn’t affect his job here.”
Full Story Here
Mr. Larson was the supervisor of our last finance director and as such, isn't he obligated to investigate all information available? Maybe Centerville can survive with only a part-time director or hire a consulting firm on an hourly basis.

"City Administrator Dallas Larson and Mayor Mary Capra confirmed that Meyer concurrently completed work for other cities, but Larson said none of the work Meyer did outside of Centerville presented a conflict."

Read More About Work With Other Cities Here

"Capra said Meyer was a good employee who brought in more than $3 million in grant funds for the city, and that resident inquiries into Meyer’s personal file are costing the city tax dollars because of attorney fees."
Full Story Here

What Capra does not mention is how much money Centerville must spend in matching funds for these grant dollars. She also does not state why the City is spending money for attorney fees in this matter. Why not allow the residents to view the personal file (attendance records) of a former or current City employee that is known to work with other cities?

"Larson said the blog has “nothing good to say about Centerville, ever.” (Link Above)
The City officials have always been encouraged to contact the blog regarding information they consider incorrect.

How Does Centerville Compare With Other Cities?

Comparing Property Taxes on Average Value Homes in 117 Metropolitan Communities, 2007-2008
The link shows how well our City officials have been managing your money. The nearby City of Columbus with similar population ranked 94 while Centerville remained at number 3.
Bear in mind that since the chart was created, our officials have been busy with:

Increasing Centerville taxes by 6.6%
(The highest allowable by law)
Imposing 4+ million dollar street improvement assessments.
(Still no dedicated road fund)
Chasing a downtown dream and placing bets.
(Approving hundreds of thousands in engineering fees)
Link Here
Link Here
Creating a"Fire Protection Fee" for those without City water.
(Not considered a new tax)

Read confirmation email from the City Administrator below.

Monday, January 5, 2009 9:21 AM

From:"Dallas Larson"

To: Centervilleblog@yahoo.com

Your blog states that the city water charge of $84 will apply to all residents. The charge at $80 is already on the bill of the majority of residents (all who are connected to city water) and for them only the 5% increase will apply. This fee will be new to those that are not connected
to city water, but receive benefits due to the fire insurance rating.

Dallas Larson, Administrator
City of Centerville
651-429-3232

City Council/Finance Director History Circa 2005

Click the above images to enlarge and read the approved City minutes.

Mary Capra, Tom Lee, Jeff Paar and Linda Broussard-Vickers all questioned his job performance (section two) in January 2005. A full six months before he accepted a position with Lightowler, Johnson and Associates. Today they claim there has never been a problem?

“I’m not aware of anything [concerning Meyer’s job performance] that would raise any huge red flags,” Larson told The Citizen. “If he was resourceful enough to generate a few dollars on the side in a consulting business, that’s fine, as long as it didn’t affect his job here.”
Several council members, including Tom Lee and Mayor Mary Capra, say they were aware that Meyer had a consulting business, a fact that Lee says was disclosed at the time of Meyer’s interview in 2004.
The Citizen


For a little history (section three) on our City Administrator
CLICK HERE

The Citizen 4/15/2009

Does Centerville Need A Full-Time Finance Director?
By Deb Barnes

The Centerville City Council is actively engaged in a search to replace former city finance director John Meyer, who retired last January for health reasons. But some Centerville citizens question whether the city really needs a full-time finance director.
Since Meyer’s departure, the city has relied on intermittent assistance from Abdo, Eick & Meyers, the city’s auditors, to keep its financial wheels turning.
Centerville is counting on cost savings realized by Meyer’s departure to help whittle its budget in 2009; even after accounting for the costs of temporary help until a new finance director is hired, it appears the city will be $22,000 ahead. But although the city may have been paying for a full-time finance director, Centerville resident Stephanie Blomseth wonders if it had one.

Records show that while Meyer was employed by the city of Centerville he actively pursued other work, both as a consultant to Minnesota municipalities and as a part-time employee of an engineering consulting firm in North Dakota.
Lightowler Johnson Associates in Fargo, N.D. lists Meyer as an employee on the company’s Web site. Meyer has worked up to 35 hours per week as Project Developer/ Finance Advisor for the architectural/engineering firm since July 1, 2005, sources say.

“I’m not aware of anything [concerning Meyer’s job performance] that would raise any huge red flags,” Larson told The Citizen. “If he was resourceful enough to generate a few dollars on the side in a consulting business, that’s fine, as long as it didn’t affect his job here.”
Several council members, including Tom Lee and Mayor Mary Capra, say they were aware that Meyer had a consulting business, a fact that Lee says was disclosed at the time of Meyer’s interview in 2004. But how much outside consulting he did, or whether Meyer arrived at City Hall “refreshed and ready for work” as the Personnel Policy requires, has apparently never been discussed.
Meyer did not return a phone call in time for this story.

To be fair, the above is only part of a much lengthier, detailed story. Of course, we chose to shorten it up for the blog. To read the entire article
Link HERE

2009 Street Improvement

Bid Opening April 14, 2009 - 10:00 a.m.
Apparent Low Bidder to Apparent High Bidder

Rum River Contracting $1,237,968.09
Forest Lake Contracting $1,337,737.25
Knife River Corporation $1,358,740.30
Dresel Contracting, Inc. $1,368,097.75
Tower Asphalt, Inc. $1,404,004.00
T.A. Schifsky & Sons, Inc. $1,579,013.99

The new bid amounts are apparently much lower than expected. Will the savings (approximately $300,000) be passed on to our assessed residents?

Centerville Property Values Drop 10.3 Percent Over Year

Taxes are payable in 2010
by Loretta Harding
4/14/2009
CENTERVILLE — The Centerville City Council heard appeals to the payable 2010 property tax assessments prior to the April 8 meeting at City Hall.

As required by state law, at least three council members became board certified to address property owners who take issue with valuation and classification of their property at the annual Board of Assessment Appeal and Equalization Hearing. City Assessor Ken Tolzmann attended the meeting to answer questions, and Diana Stellmach represented Anoka County, as required by state law.

Assessors in Minnesota use real estate sales in a given community between October of 2007 and September of 2008 to determine current market value of homesteaded residential property. Qualified sales for purposes of market valuation don't include bank sales, foreclosures or sales to relatives.
Full Story Here

Do City Officials Care When the Employment Policy is Violated?

Apparently they all have turned a blind eye to it here in Centerville! Our last finance director John Meyer, split town (citing health issues) in the midst of a State audit and left us high and dry on the 2009 Centerville budget. It has come to our attention that the Centerville City officials (including Mayor Mary Capra) knew our former finance director was working with other cities at the same time he was employed with the City of Centerville. They also knew he owned his own business upon choosing to hire him in 2005. Mr. Meyer did all this with their knowledge even though it most likely was a violation of Centerville's employment policy.
See actual policy documentation above.

To learn more about his activities while working for us,
CLICK HERE.

Maybe it's time to question what is going on behind the walls of City Hall during working hours and the judgment of our elected officials. To some, this appears to be further evidence of selective enforcement. To others this is a violation of public trust and reckless use of taxpayer dollars.

Suggestions Being Accepted for Naming the New Road

The City Council is looking for resident suggestions for naming the "Backage Road" located 20th Avenue and 21st Avenue. We will be accepting names via email at tbender@centervillemn.com until May 31, 2009.

A Finance Director Is Needed... Why?

Could the positions of City Administrator and Finance Director be combined? If the Finance Director has to "step up" to fulfill the role of Administrator in his absence, why is our Administrator unable to fulfill the role of the "subordinate" Finance Director position?
Finance Director Employee Position Description Here
What exactly does our City Administrator do for the $90K+ salary (with full benefits) he receives?
Incidentally, the Finance Director position pays another 80K+ with full benefits.

In the interest of saving money and covering our current $120,000 budget shortfall, is this a bad idea for a city of our size?

What About That State Audit?

We have been hearing from residents questioning the status of the State audit. Here is what we know today.

The audit was completed between November and January.
Centerville will be charged approximately $60 per hour for the investigation. We do not know how many hours will be billed.

The audit is currently under review.
Centerville will not be charged for the review process.

The review completion is done in multiple steps.
The audit of Cambridge was not released for nine months.
Link to audit Here
At this time we are waiting for a phone call from the State and have no inside information as to the approximate completion date.

Per Minnesota Statute 6.715
Data that support the conclusions of the report and that the state auditor reasonably believes will result in litigation are protected nonpublic data or confidential data on individuals, until the litigation has been completed or is no longer being actively pursued.
Link to statute Here

Whether the formal proceedings against a Centerville business is related to the audit or simply coincidence is unknown to us at this time.

CENTERSTONE TITLE LLC
Respondent created and controlled sham affiliated business arrangements; and provided other forms of kickbacks to referral partners in exchange for the referral of title insurance business.
Link to findings Here

Thank you to everyone that has supported the State audit. We will continue to do our best to keep you informed of our findings.
Have a great weekend!

Centerville Anticipates Up To $120,000 In Budget Cuts

No Word Yet On State Audit Costs
By Deb Barnes

CENTERVILLE – Although the City of Centerville isn’t quite sure how big the 2009 budget funding gap is going to be, one council work session on the topic has already been held. City Administrator Dallas Larson is getting the city’s ducks in a row to meet the shortfall, which he says may be as high as $120,000, or almost 5 percent of the city budget, set at $2,604,320 last December. That number, however, does not include charges for the state audit report, which is still under review by the Office of the State Auditor. Since that time, it has become clear that some expected revenues will not be headed for the city’s coffers aft er all. City officials anticipate that $63,500 in 2009 Market Value Homestead Credit revenues will not be forthcoming from the state, and staff is taking steps to deal with that expected loss.

“We need to cut a minimum of $80,000, perhaps as high as $120,000 [from the budget],” Larson said. Those budget cuts will be accomplished in a number of ways. The city will see at least a net $22,000 in savings because of the vacancy in the finance director position following John Meyer’s retirement in January.

The Citizen
Full Story Here

Twin Cities home prices take a 20% plunge

In the Twin Cities, home prices fell 20 percent in January from a year earlier, the largest annual decline on record.
Housing continues to grope for a bottom in the Twin Cities, new numbers out Tuesday show. Local home prices in January took their steepest annual dive yet, according to the latest Standard and Poor's Case-Shiller home price index, while the number of residential construction permits issued locally in March fell to one of the lowest monthly totals on record.
The upshot: Housing, the economic sector that triggered the nation's worst recession in generations, remains ravaged by foreclosure-related activity and still has a backlog of inventory. Buyers benefit, but the slide in values is squeezing household balance sheets and wallets. In the Twin Cities, home prices fell 20 percent in January from a year earlier, according to the Case-Shiller index of home prices in 20 major metropolitian areas. That's the area's largest yearly drop on record, though the index declined less in January than in December, possibly indicating that the bottom is nearby.
The association has been tracking the two local markets separately to illustrate the different dynamics behind the Twin Cities overall median sale price, which now stands at a very low $150,000.

By JENNIFER BJORHUS,
Star Tribune Full Story Here
March 31, 2009

In a Fix: Fill Potholes, Empty Out Wallets

For cash-strapped Minnesota residents, street upgrades are a low priority. In metro-area suburbs, they're letting local officials know it.
When Michelle DeMarre learned that Maplewood was planning to slap a $7,000 tax assessment on her home to pay for new street and storm sewers, she was incredulous.
"During these economic times, they're asking for $7,000!" DeMarre exclaimed. "There were people at these public meetings [on the street proposal] who didn't even have a job.
We told the city, 'Now is not the time.'" It's a message being heard in suburbs across the metro area. With bulldozers revving up for spring construction season, many suburbs are finding loud opposition to local construction projects that in better days were OK'd by area homeowners with little more than a grumble.
Homeowners boast some success.
Last fall, Centerville chopped in half the $7 million price tag for a street improvement after bitter community complaints.
In January, Maplewood canceled its construction plans for DeMarre's neighborhood.
Last month, Bloomington sliced 1 mile out of its 5-mile road construction plan for 2009.
Some cities, however, worry that delaying repairs could end up costing more in the future. While residents have opposed these tax assessments in the past, it's been particularly swift and vocal this year, said Chuck Ahl, public works director for Maplewood.
Plymouth homeowners, for example, began organizing against a street improvements plan this winter long before a public hearing was even scheduled, said Lori Ahrens, city manager. "I think you'll see an overall downturn in normal public works projects," said Jim Miller, executive director of the Minnesota League of Cities.
In the current market, "it may be more difficult to demonstrate that property values will rise in relation to the amount of the assessment, which is required by law. And people may not have the ability to pay."
Star Tribune Link

Keep standing tall Centerville residents! Together we have a voice and together it will continue to be heard!!

Two Centerville Pond Projects Postponed

The Centerville City Council learned at its March 11 meeting that two of the city's pond projects have encountered obstacles.
The 2009 Pond Dredging Project could not be completed before warm weather and weight restrictions imposed by the Minnesota Department of Transportation set in. City Engineer Mark Statz said the project would be abandoned until January of 2010 or earlier, depending on when the ground freezes again.One pond project was originally meant to drain water from downtown redevelopment into land owned by St. Genevieve Catholic Church. According to City Administrator Dallas Larson, it was suggested that the proposed pond be relocated to the southwest corner of Laurie LaMotte Memorial Park due to complications at St. Genevieve.
Now there are complications at the park.
The city's Parks and Recreation Committee said the southwest corner chosen for the pond is the only area in the park suitable for a soccer field, and that the Soccer Association has already invested money in that field.
The parks committee recommended that the pond be located in the southeast corner of the park for safety reasons, but the city preferred the larger storage capacity of the southwest corner.
On March 4, the Parks and Recreation Committee unanimously opposed the pond being located in the southwest corner of the park.
If the city is unable to secure the southwest corner, Larson and Statz said they’ll look at other alternatives and keep the southeast corner in reserve, in case they don't find another site for the drainage pond.
Quad Press