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| County responds to citizens' jail inquiries |
| By austindailyherald.com |
| Published: 05/28/2009 |
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County responds to citizens' jail inquiries Attorney Nelsen's response not enought for Tax Payers League By Lee Bonorden | Austin Daily Herald Mower County Attorney Kristen Nelsen has summed up the county’s response to citizens’ inquiries about new jail and justice center funding in 21 words. It is two sentences that read, “I have reviewed your correspondence dated May 14, 2009. It is Mower County’s position that we have complied with the statutes,” Nelsen noted in a letter dated May 20. The letter was sent to Stephen Smith, an Owatonna attorney, and Angela Skarda, an attorney who works as a citizens research specialist in Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson’s office. Smith was retained by the Mower County Tax Payers League to represent them during their efforts to question whether Mower County is following the correct Minnesota Statute in financing the jail and justice center project. Ten million dollars in leave revenue bonds were issued late last year and applied to this year’s personal property taxes to fund the justice center-only portion of the project. The commissioners later took bids and awarded contracts for construction of the jail portion of the project as well as a geothermal well field to heat and cool the facilities in downtown Austin. Work is currently underway on all three portions of the largest capital improvements project in Mower County history. Jail overcrowding and court security issues were originally given as reasons for the new facilities. More recently, Mower County’s jail has been downgraded by the Minnesota Department of Corrections into a 90-day lockup, forcing the county to board-out more prisoners to neighboring counties’ jails. The county commissioners, relying upon the advice of Nelsen and Stephanie Galey, a bonding attorney, have consistently said to all critics they believe they are following the correct Minnesota Statute and acting legally to take bids and award contracts before issuing bonds — i.e., having the money in the bank — to build the new jail and geothermal well field. The Mower County Tax Payers League petitioned the commissioners to hold a hearing on the financing plan for the benefit of citizens only to be rebuffed by Nelsen and the county commissioners. When the Mower County Tax Payers League was rejected by county officials and staff in its attempts to force a hearing on the statute accusations, it went to the Minnesota Attorney General for assistance through attorney Smith. The Mower County Tax Payers League’s last letters to Nelsen and the attorney general were mailed on May 14 and shared with local media that same day. Nelsen, however, was out of town and not available for comment.Read more. If link has expired, check the website of the article's original news source. |
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