Minutes - Council - 09/11/2006 - Laserfiche WebLink

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that clearly stated the City Council authorized a not-to-exceed amount of $5,000, and that further authorization by City Council is needed to exceed this amount. Mr. Hegg responded to this memo, so it is known that he was made aware where he was in the not-to-exceed amount, and that any further amount would need authorization. The Committee also had a separate discussion about the chain of authorization. There were some notes on the bills submitted by HSP Associates Inc. to the City about individuals within the City organization that may have requested or approved certain services. The Finance Committee would like to have the City Council discuss the issue of who is able to direct the payment of bills and direct expenditures, and who is not, and how that chain of command works. There was concern about confusion being created if individuals are told that City Council authorization is required, and perhaps others are giving a different direction. A public expenditure policy will be coming back to a Council work session, and the Committee determined that would be a good time to have a whole financial policy discussion, with the Council possibly considering a policy on retroactive authorization of expenses as well. It was a separate request from the Finance Committee that this issue be discussed at a work session very soon. Mayor Gamec inquired if the discussions with Senators Coleman and Dayton's offices would be included in the payment. Councilmember Strommen replied the bills were not itemized. This expense would be eligible, but only up to the amount authorized by Council. The direction to the Finance Officer was very clear that travel expenses are to be excluded. Mayor Gamec noted some of the billings were in relation to conversations he had with Mr. Hegg, which is a common consultant charge. Councilmember Jeffrey explained if the charge for the discussions exceeds the $5,000 cap it would not be covered under the recommendation of the Finance Committee. Mayor Gamec asked if this same policy would be applied to all consultants. Councilmember Strommen replied this relates to the second point the Committee discussed. There is another consultant working for the City that shaved off the portion of a bill that exceeded the authorized amount. The Committee would like the Council to have a discussion regarding the chain of authorization. Councilmember Cook stated he would like to delve into the legal matter if staff or a councilmember tells a consultant to proceed, and whether Council has a liability to pay that bill. City Attorney Goodrich replied this would likely be addressed on a case-by-case basis. Clearly the Council is the only entity that can authorize payment of bills under state law and city charter. The city charter authorizes the City Administrator to expend on his or her own authorization up to $500 for miscellaneous items. Otherwise no one has the authority to expend money on behalf of the City. There may be a circumstance where a court could find that the vendor was led by someone to do these things, and he could see a judge determining that under the circumstances of City Council / September 11, 2006 Page 10 of 15