Agenda - Council - 08/08/1995 - Laserfiche WebLink

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JUL 3D '95 E3:iS RRHDALL DEHMGOODRICH P.3/4 William I~ Goodrich 3my 26, 995 Pa§¢ 2 Based on these facts, we have concluded there has been no crime committed. The City of Ramsey is required to designate a depository for the deposit of municipal funds, M.S. 118.005. The act of deaignating a depository has, over time, become less significant than it may have been when there were fewer financial institutions competing for scarce dollars. In fact, a 1988 amendment to M.S. 118.005 prov/des that governing bodies of municipalities may delegate the designation of depositories to the treasurer or chief financial officer. Many gctveming bodies, as did Ramsey, designate a number of financial institutions and leave the determination of which depository to use to the. discretion of the financial officer. Any crime in the process of making the dec/sion described above is most likely to be found /n the provisions of M.S. 471.87 and M.S. 471.88. M.S. 471.87 provides as follows: Except as authorized in section 471.88, a public officer who is authorized to take part in any manner in malting any sale, lease, or contract in official capacity shall not voluntarily have a person~ financial interest in that sa/e, lease, or contract or personally benefit financially therefrom. Every public officer 'who violates this provision is guilty of a gross misdemeanor. M.S, 471.88 is entitled '~_.xcepdons" and contains 14 subdivisions listing circumstances under which conduct that would appear to be a violation of M.S. 471.87 is in fact permitted. Thus, it would appear that one does not examfl~e M.S. 471.88 unless there is a v/olation of M.S. 471.87. In order for there to have been a poss~le violation of M.S. 471.87 irt th/s matter, we must ask the threshoI4 question of whether there has been a sale, lease, or contract between the City of Ramsey and the Northeast State Bank. We are advised by the finance officer of the cJ~y that there has never "been any type of application filed, account opened, funds deposited or invested, or any other form of contractual arrangement between the City of Ramsey and Northeast State Bank." It would, therefore, appear that there has been no sale, lease, _or. contract which would invoke the provisions of the statute. We need not determine whether Mr. Hardin has a "personal financial interest" or examine the provisions of any exception found in 471.88. The sole act of participating in the designation of the Northeast State Bank as a depository without the city proceeding to establish a financial relationsMp w/th the bank is not violative of the punitive provision of M.S. 471.87.