Grand Marais city councilors wrapped up the year with a brief meeting Dec. 29. It was the last meeting for Mayor Sue Hakes, who will move on to her new job as a Cook County commissioner, and Councilor Kay Costello, who also ran for the county commissioner position and was therefore not eligible for re-election to her city council seat.
Because council had already approved the city’s 2011 budget and levy at its previous meeting, there were few items on the agenda for the last meeting of the year.
Notably, councilors voted unanimously to grant a $5 per hour increase in legal fees to be paid to the city’s attorney, Flaherty & Hood of St. Paul. In making the request, Attorney Chris Hood said in a memo that the new fees are made in accordance with the proposal that was made to and accepted by the city in 2009. However, he said, the fee increase that was actually to go into effect this year was postponed a year in an effort to help the city with its budget shortfall in the face of the loss of significant state aid.
The new rate structure means the city will pay $100 per hour for “general municipal matters”; $115 per hour for other civil matters; $130 hourly for litigation matters; and $175 per hour for third-party reimbursed matters (such as when the city is reimbursed by a developer or other person or entity).
The city also pays $3,125 quarterly to the county attorney’s office to handle the city’s criminal cases.
Hood & Flaherty was hired by the city in 2009 after longtime City Attorney Don Davison announced his retirement from law practice. City Finance Director Kim Dunsmoor said she was unsure how the new arrangement compared with the previous one, but said she believed that overall it was a little bit higher.
Councilor Tim Kennedy acknowledged that he had some reservations about making the decision to hire an out-of-town attorney to work with the city. “I was torn about not having a local person,” he said, noting he was more than satisfied with the way things have worked out. Regarding the fee structure, Kennedy said it was “reasonable for a good attorney who is knowledgeable about city issues.”
Hakes, too, said she had some initial misgivings about using the services of a St. Paul firm. “It bothered me at first. But now I’m sure we picked the perfect person,” she said. The mayor said she believes there are some advantages to having a “stranger” represent the city rather than a local person. “They can look at things more objectively… everything is cut and dry,” Hakes said.
Hood, who normally participates in the city council meetings via telephone, said he enjoys working with the city and hopes to do so “in 2011 and beyond.” Flaherty & Hood specializes in municipal law and represents four Minnesota cities in addition to Grand Marais.
In other business, the city adopted the IRS standard mileage rates for those using a vehicle while on city business. The 2011 rate was increased by a penny, to 51 cents per mile.
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