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$1 million and counting for county's lawsuitThe issue of the Mille Lacs County lawsuit against the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe simply isn't going to go away, whether we want it to or not. Legal fees for the county's suit have climbed beyond $1 million and it appears that is finally starting to get the attention of some taxpayers in the county. One county resident spoke to me last weekend, asking how to get township governments involved, saying that the whole issue had to be brought to a conclusion, while wondering if township supervisors could give some input to county commissioners. And others have commented in the past two weeks that the $1 million has gotten the county nowhere so far. Commissioner Frank Courteau of Onamia, who was more than willing to comment on the case after it was filed, wouldn't return a call for our story two weeks ago that told about a federal judge dismissing the county's lawsuit. Now Courteau is reported as telling fellow commissioners at their May 20 meeting that much of the work (and, thus, money spent) was done in preparation for the trial that had been scheduled for June. Well, I guess we knew that. The problem, especially after the federal judge held a hearing in January and basically chastised the county's attorney, is that it has always appeared to be a lawsuit headed nowhere, at great expense to Mille Lacs County taxpayers - unless, of course, that $1 million (and counting) isn't perceived as a great expense. The county is now appealing the judge's decision and the bills will come like clockwork each month. At its May 20 meeting the board approved a total of $58,632 in legal fees for April. It's been surprising that county taxpayers haven't raised more of a ruckus about the legal bill the county pays each month. It says that either they are behind the lawsuit or think there's little they can do to change the minds of commissioners who seem intent on spending more money. James Baden, a former editor of the Mille Lacs Messenger, with headquarters in Isle, wrote that newspaper a letter from Missouri last week. "I think most reasonable people knew from the get-go that even the county 's million-dollar lawyer wasn't going to be able to make the judge see a problem where none existed," he wrote. "In the end, this was little more than a costly squandering of taxpayers' money by people who continue to believe they can find a court in this country that is willing to decide Indian issues based on the kind of vindictiveness and racial prejudice that motivated this lawsuit." Baden had many years of experience, as an editor, of following a previous lawsuit the county was involved in concerning an 1837 treaty with the Band of Ojibwe. That one failed, too, at three levels - District Court, Appeals Court and U.S. Supreme Court. Mille Lacs County Attorney Jan Kolb said in a story in the Union-Eagle last week that the county's attorney in the lawsuit, Tom Tobin, will stay within the budget, Kolb saying there's $425,000 left for that this year, and that Tobin "is sympathetic to the county's situation." My guess is that it's easy to be sympathetic when you're billing the county for that much money each month. Judge James Rosenbaum, in his May ruling, had this to say: "Plaintiffs' complaints stem then, not from uncertainty, but from fears and perceptions concerning an unfavorable decision on the lawsuit they have themselves initiated. - Before the Court will invoke its sweeping declaratory judgment power, it must preside over a live controversy. Here, plaintiffs have not offered proof that such a controversy - exists." Legalese? For sure. But it seems to say there isn't much to the lawsuit. If you're comfortable with paying those attorney fees each month, continue to say nothing. We're within the budget anyway. Princeton Union-Eagle |
